BODC Cruise Metadata Report for RRS James Cook (740H) cruise JC241

Introduction

This report collates information from the BODC cruise inventory and oceanographic databases. It presents

Cruise Inventory Information
A summary of BODC data holdings for the cruise from the
- National Oceanographic Database
- Projects Database
References - including cruise tracks and cruise reports

Cruise Inventory Information

Long name	RRS James Cook (740H) cruise JC241
Short name	JC241
Objectives and Narrative	This cruise is part of the Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact (SMARTEX) project funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (Grant Reference NE/T003537/1). This is the second UK cruise to the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the northern equatorial Pacific, an area likely to be targeted for deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules. The first (JC120) was carried out in 2015. This is the first cruise for the SMARTEX project (of two planned). Scientific aims 1. Understand the remaining impact of a realistic mining test on the benthic environment and its fauna after 44 years 2. Assess natural temporal change in macrofaunal communities between 1989 and 2023 (at PRA site) 3. Provide the first characterisation of megafaunal species and communities present at APEI-13 (linked outreach and policy interaction aim) 4. Characterise the environment and ecology of the UK-1 area in advance of a planned nodule collector test Scientific objectives by site OMCO 1979 experimental site - Map impacts of 1979 test on seabed habitats - Assess geochemical changes caused by test - Assess biological changes caused by test (mega, macro, meiofauna + eDNA) - Assess changes in ecosystem functioning caused by track (nutrient uptake / foodwebs) PRA - Assess natural temporal change in macrofaunal communities between 1989 and 2023 UK-1 - Understand seasonal changes in seafloor currents and benthic boundary layer processes at UK-1 - Produce a map of seabed habitats in area of planned collector test - Understand spatial variability in sedimentary geochemistry and biogeochemistry - Assess the scale dependency of megafaunal communities and eDNA at scales of 1 ? 10s of km at UK-1 - Assess seasonal changes (over 1-year) in benthic megafaunal and nodule fauna presence and activity (time-lapse camera study) - Extend our biodiversity assessment of the UK-1 area (from ABYSSLINE) particularly in benthic megafauna, scavenging fishes, and amphipods and macrofauna (sediment and nodule-dwelling) Multi-site - Extend our biodiversity assessment of the CCZ particularly in benthic megafauna, scavenging fishes, and amphipods and macrofauna (sediment and nodule-dwelling) - Improve our understanding of connectivity of mega and macrofauna - Obtain baseline measurements of exposure biomarkers in fish blood and tissue samples (OMCO and UK-1)
Ship	RRS James Cook
Departure Port	Caldera, Costa Rica
Departure Date	2023-02-04
Arrival Port	Caldera, Costa Rica
Arrival Date	2023-03-26
Principal Scientist(s)	Daniel O B Jones (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton)
Responsible Organisation	National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Associated Project(s)	Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact (SMARTEX)
IHB Sea Areas Visited	North East Pacific Ocean (limit 180W)
Marsden Squares Visited	48
Work Area Description	Clarion Clipperton Zone
Unable to lookup cruise bounds at this time
Work Area Bounding Polygon
Southern Limit	unknown
Northern Limit	unknown
Western Limit	unknown
Eastern Limit	unknown

Cruise Inventory Datasets

Physical oceanography
CTD stations	Quantity: number of deployments = 6 Description: CTD
Biology and fisheries
Demersal fish	Quantity: number of deployments = 4 Description: Fish trap
Zoobenthos	Quantity: number of deployments = 9 Description: Megacore
Zoobenthos	Quantity: number of deployments = 4 Description: Fish trap
Zoobenthos	Quantity: number of deployments = 43 Description: Boxcore
Zoobenthos	Quantity: number of deployments = 15 Description: Remotely Operated Vehicle images, multibeam and samples
Geology and geophysics
Core - soft bottom	Quantity: number of deployments = 8 Description: Gravity core
Core - soft bottom	Quantity: number of deployments = 9 Description: Megacore
Multi-beam echosounding	Quantity: number of surveys = 1 Description: Multibeam from ship
Multi-beam echosounding	Quantity: number of deployments = 15 Description: Remotely Operated Vehicle images, multibeam and samples

Cruise Inventory Mooring/Buoy Operations

Latitude	Longitude	Data type	Description
13° 52' N	116° 32' W	CTD stations	100 m mooring with sediment trap, current meter and CTD
13° 56' N	116° 30' W	CTD stations	100 m mooring with sediment trap, current meter and CTD
13° 53' N	116° 29' W	CTD stations	1000 m mooring with sediment traps, current meters, thermistor chain and CTDs
13° 52' N	116° 32' W	Current meters	100 m mooring with sediment trap, current meter and CTD
13° 56' N	116° 30' W	Current meters	100 m mooring with sediment trap, current meter and CTD
13° 53' N	116° 29' W	Current meters	1000 m mooring with sediment traps, current meters, thermistor chain and CTDs
13° 53' N	116° 29' W	Subsurface temperature measurements	1000 m mooring with sediment traps, current meters, thermistor chain and CTDs
13° 54' N	116° 31' W	Zoobenthos	Time-lapse camera system
13° 53' N	116° 30' W	Zoobenthos	Time-lapse camera system