RV SONNE Fahrtbericht / Cruise Report SO277 OMAX: Offshore Malta Aquifer Exploration, Emden (Germany) – Emden (Germany), 14.08. – 03.10.2020

SO277 OMAX served two scientific projects. The objectives of the first project, SMART, were to develop multi-disciplinary methodologies to detect, quantify, and model offshore groundwater reservoirs in regions dominated by carbonate geology such as the Mediterranean Sea. To this end we acquired controlled-source electromagnetic, seismic, hydroacoustic, geochemical, seafloor imagery data off Malta. Preliminary evaluation of the geophysical data show that there are resisitivity anomalies that may represent offshore freshwater aquifers. The absence of evidence for offshore springs means that these aquifers would be confined and that it will be difficult to use them in a sustainable manner. The objective of the second project, MAPACT-ETNA, is to monitor the flank of Etna volcano on Sicily which is slowly deforming seaward. Here, we deployed six seafloor geodesy stations and six ocean bottom seismometers for long-term observation (1-3 years). In addition, we mapped the seafloor off Mt. Etna and off the island of Stromboli to constrain the geological processes that control volcanic flank stability.