Resources

RRS Discovery D107

Cruise summary report

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)RRS Discovery (74E3)
Cruise identifierD107
Cruise period1979-12-28 — 1980-02-10
StatusCompleted
Port of departureSan Juan, Puerto Rico
Port of returnBridgetown, Barbados
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesThis cruise was part of a major collaborative international seismic experiment in the western North Atlantic involving not only RRS Discovery but also CSS Dawson as well as seismic recording stations ashore on many of the islands of the Lesser Antilles. The objectives of the experiment, which has become known as LADLE (Lesser Antilles Deep Lithosphere Experiment), was to study the oceanic lithosphere's seismic structure using sea-bed recordings of both large explosions fired at sea and earthquakes occurring beneath the Lesser Antilles island arc. To this end Discovery began the cruise with sixteen ocean-bottom seismographs most of which were to be deployed as part of a 1020km array along longitude 61 30W north of the Lesser Antilles. Shots varying in size from 1 to 8 tons were also to be fired from RRS Discovery and CSS Dawson.
Chief scientistRobert B Whitmarsh (Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Wormley Laboratory)
ProjectLADLE
Cruise reportRRS Discovery D107 cruise report d107.pdf (0.97 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralNorth West Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W)
SpecificLesser Antilles
Track chartsRRS Discovery D107 cruise track — trk2436a.html RRS Discovery D107 cruise track — trk2436b.html
Measurements 
Physical oceanography 
Surface measurements underway (T,S)Quantity: track kilometres = 9400
Description: T only
Meteorology 
Incident radiationQuantity: activity duration in days = 36
Routine standard measurementsQuantity: activity duration in days = 36
Geology and geophysics 
Multi-beam echosoundingQuantity: track kilometres = 9400
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 1000
Seismic refractionQuantity: number of deployments = 3
Description: arrays of moored seismometers with shots fired from two vessels (Discovery and Dawson).
Gravity measurementsQuantity: track kilometres = 9428.532
Description: format: magn.disk.
Magnetic measurementsQuantity: track kilometres = 3150
Description: format: magn.disk.