RRS Discovery D156
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Discovery (74E3) |
| Cruise identifier | D156 |
| Cruise period | 1985-06-18 — 1985-07-29 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Falmouth, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Barry, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | 1. To provide a qualitative and quantitative description of the midwater and benthic ecosystems at a site on the Madeira Abyssal Plain (Great Meteor East).
2. To study the relationships between the midwater and benthic communities at GME. 3. To study the physical characteristics of the water column at GME. 4. To study the primary production of phytoplankton and its associated physico-chemical parameters both at GME and en-route to the site. 5. To make experimental observations on a range of oceanic animals both at GME and in transit. |
| Chief scientist | Howard S J Roe (Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Wormley Laboratory) |
| Cruise report |  (1.17 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | Bay of Biscay North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | Madeira Abyssal Plain (Great Meteor East) |
| Track charts |  |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Bathythermograph | Quantity: number of profiles = 136 |
| CTD stations | Quantity: number of stations = 25 |
| Chemical oceanography | |
| Oxygen | Quantity: 24 |
| Nitrate | Quantity: 24 |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Primary productivity | Quantity: 4 |
| Phytoplankton pigs (eg chlorophyll, fluorescence) | Quantity: 24 |
| Phytoplankton | Quantity: 25 |
| Zooplankton | Quantity: 92 |
| Nekton | Quantity: 92 |
| Pelagic bacteria/micro-organisms | Quantity: 25 |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: 10 Description: survey:taxonomy,energy transfers,biomass determination,distribution |
| Pelagic fish | Quantity: number of hauls = 92 Description: survey:taxonomy,energy transfers,biomass determination,distribution |
| Meteorology | |
| Routine standard measurements | |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Dredge | Quantity: number of deployments = 1 |
| Multi-beam echosounding | Quantity: track kilometres = 4630 |
