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Las Palmas (AP) - The German research ship "Meteor" set out on Monday on a seven-week expedition in the mouth of the Amazon.

The focus is on the investigation of material turnover and food webs in the region that extends far into the tropical North Atlantic, announced the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) on Monday at the start of the ship from Las Palmas (Gran Canaria).

The IOW is leading the expedition.

The area of ​​influence of the Amazon, the so-called river flag, extends far into the sea.

According to the IOW, the development of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the various areas is of particular importance.

Among other things, plankton plays a major role in binding CO2.

"We expect the plankton communities along the river flag to change, both in terms of their species composition and in terms of their functional diversity and metabolism," says Maren Voss, who leads the expedition as an expert in marine nitrogen cycles.

The research team is also dedicated to the physical mixing processes of river and sea water.

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15 experts from the IOW as well as scientists from Bremen, Switzerland and the USA are part of the research group, it said.

A total of 56 stations are to be approached in front of the Amazon estuary.

Samples are to be taken and various experiments carried out.

The research trip should end in Emden at the end of May.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210412-99-174871 / 2