RV K. Piri Reis FDS_Submarine
Cruise summary report
Cruise Info. | |
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Ship name (ship code) | RV K. Piri Reis (89PR) |
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Cruise identifier | FDS_Submarine |
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Cruise period | 2010-05-14 — 2010-05-26 |
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Status | Completed |
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Port of departure | Izmir, Turkey |
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Port of return | Izmir, Turkey |
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Purpose | Research |
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Objectives | The primary aim of the FDS Submarine cruise was to collect high-resolution velocity data from an active submarine channel, using NERC's Autosub 3 autonomous submarine. In this case, from a saline underflow that passes through a channel network on the Black Sea shelf immediately north of the Bosphorus Strait. Such data for submarine channels is unknown due to the difficulty of measuring such flows which are typically infrequent and destructive. Furthermore, as a result of sea-level rise most flows of this type are out of equilibrium with their bounding topography. This part of the Black Sea is a unique area where a 10-15 m thick underflow of dense Mediterranean water flows across the Black Sea shelf through a series of meandering channels. Furthermore, this channel network was only initiated round 6,000 years ago when sea-level approached its present level, and flows and channel network have co-evolved together to form a system in equilibrium. Such velocity data is critical for generating predictive models of these deep-sea channels which are the primary transporters of sediment, carbon and pollutant fluxes to the deep sea, and whose deposits form major hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Despite a range of problems, including mobilisation, adverse weather, and instrumentation failure the cruise was ultimately successful in providing the first detailed dataset of the three-dimensional flow field of a submarine channel. Cruise highlights included:
1) 36 hours of Autosub 3 data collection across a series of lines around a major channel bend
2) collection of CTD data across a series of transects normal to the channel
3) collection of grab samples from the base of the channel revealing complex spatial patterns in the seafloor environment. |
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Chief scientist | Jeffrey Peakall (University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment) |
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Cruise report | (1.04 MB) |
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Ocean/sea areas | |
General | Black Sea |
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Specific | North of the Bosphorus Strait |
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Track charts | (0.58 MB) |
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Measurements | |
Physical oceanography | |
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CTD stations | Quantity: number of stations = 2 Description: Dokuz Eylül University CTD |
CTD stations | Quantity: number of stations = 88 Description: University of Leeds CTD |
Current profiler (eg ADCP) | Quantity: activity duration in hours = 36 Description: Autosub 3 data collection |
Geology and geophysics | |
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Grab | Quantity: number of stations = 40 Description: Grab samples from the base of the submarine channel |
Multi-beam echosounding | Quantity: activity duration in hours = 36 Description: Autosub 3 data collection |