FRV Explorer 4A/77
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | FRV Explorer (74EX) |
| Cruise identifier | 4A/77 |
| Cruise period | 1977-05-02 — 1977-05-06 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Aberdeen, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Aberdeen, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | The cruise was arranged at short notice in response to the Ekofisk blow-out as a joint study by the Marine Laboratory and Torry Research Station
1) To make observations on the contamination of water and fish in the area of the slick with comparison with conditions in the UK sector of the North Sea 2) To undertake limited experimental work to assess effects on marine life 3) At station 1, specimens of 6 fish species (haddock, whiting, gurnard, lemon sole, mackerel, and plaice) and 1 invertebrate (Modiolus) were kept and samples of microbes, plankton and benthos were taken for experiments to be conducted at Ekofisk 4) At stations 3 and 6, serial sampling was done throughout the water column for temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll to determine the depth of mixing |
| Chief scientist | Alasdair D McIntyre (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland Aberdeen Marine Laboratory) |
| Cruise report |  (1.29 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Sea |
| Specific | Ekofisk area |
| Track charts | (1.06 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of stations = 2 Description: At 6 positions between depth and bottom |
| Contamination | |
| Chlorinated hydrocarbons | |
| Contaminants in organisms | Quantity: number of deployments = 5 Description: Sediment trap and mussel cages were used in area of pollution of the Ekofisk blowout |
| Other contaminant measurements | Description: waste water:microbiology |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Primary productivity | Quantity: 2 |
| Phytoplankton pigs (eg chlorophyll, fluorescence) | Quantity: 2 |
| Zooplankton | Description: feeding |
| Nekton | Quantity: number of hauls = 4 Description: 1 hour duration. Selected specimens collected for hydrocarbon analysis and organoleptic tests. Haddock, whiting, gurnard, plaice and lemon sole caught |
| Zoobenthos | |
| Demersal fish | Quantity: number of hauls = 4 Description: 1 hour duration. Selected specimens collected for hydrocarbon analysis and organoleptic tests. Haddock, whiting, gurnard, plaice and lemon sole caught |
