RRS Challenger CH38
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Challenger (74CH) |
| Cruise identifier | CH38 |
| Cruise period | 1988-10-27 — 1988-10-31 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | 1. To survey a preselected area of sand waves, using sidescan sonar and echo-sounding, in order to assess the homogeneity of the sand wave field in the area, select a site for STABLE deployments, and provide bottom topography for planned numerical models.
2. To deploy two POL pressure sensors, separated by 10km across the sand waves, to measure sea surface slopes. These were to be recovered one month later during cruise 40. 3. To deploy the bottom tripod STABLE, to measure turbulence and currents at the seabed, along with suspended sediment concentrations, pressure and seabed topography by bottom photography. STABLE was to be recovered at the end of cruise 38. 4. To run Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) surveys over as many tidal cycles as possible between the pressure sensors, to obtain mid-water current profiles. 5. To collect seabed surface samples using a Shipek Grab, to characterise the bed grain roughness at different locations over a sand wave profile. |
| Chief scientist | David Huntley (Polytechnic South West Institute of Marine Studies) |
| Project | NERC North Sea Project |
| Coordinating body | NERC |
| Cruise report |  (0.34 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Sea |
| Specific | Southern North Sea |
| Track charts | (0.04 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Current profiler (eg ADCP) | Quantity: track kilometres = 555.6 Description: Acoustic Doppler Profiles,diskette |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Grab | Quantity: number of deployments = 11 |
| Single-beam echosounding | Quantity: track kilometres = 250 |
| Long/short range side scan sonar | Quantity: track kilometres = 148.16 |
