RRS Discovery D222B
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Discovery (74E3) |
| Cruise identifier | D222B |
| Cruise period | 1996-08-29 — 1996-09-24 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Falmouth, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | The first of a series of cruises to the same area involving 17 European Partners funded under an EU contract (BENGAL). General objective: study of seasonal changes in organic and inorganic fluxes to deep-sea floor and the benthic processes affecting its incorporation in sediments.
Main cruise tasks: 1. Recover and redeploy long-term moorings (Sed. Trap; Bathysnap, MAC) 2. Deploy and recover short-term moorings (NIOZ Lander, Sediment Traps, .Amphipod Traps, Bathysnack, Biofeed). 3. Obtain series of benthic samples and photographs (multiple corer, box corer, OTSB, Wasp). 4. Water column observations with CTD (water collection, marine snow profiling camera). |
| Chief scientist | Anthony L Rice (Southampton Oceanography Centre) |
| Project | BENGAL |
| Coordinating body | SOC |
| Cruise report |  (6.39 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | Porcupine Abyssal Plain |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of profiles = 10 Description: CTD with 10 L water bottles and marine snow profiling camera |
| CTD stations | Quantity: number of profiles = 10 Description: CTD with 10 L water bottles and marine snow profiling camera |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | Quantity: number of hauls = 3 Description: SAPS (stand alone pump systems) water filtered at variety of levels from near surface to near bottom (at 4840m) |
| Pelagic bacteria/micro-organisms | Quantity: number of hauls = 3 Description: SAPS (stand alone pump systems) water filtered at variety of levels from near surface to near bottom (at 4840m) |
| Benthic bacteria/micro-organisms | Quantity: number of deployments = 15 Description: Multiple corer (12 cores each drop) - for heiofauna, sediment chemistry, O2, bacteria |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of hauls = 14 Description: OTSB (otter trawl - semi balloon) |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of hauls = 6 Description: WASP (wide angle seafloor photography) system - 2 with video camera |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of deployments = 15 Description: Multiple corer (12 cores each drop) - for heiofauna, sediment chemistry, O2, bacteria |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of deployments = 14 Description: Spade box core (macrofauna and sediment chemistry) |
| Moorings, landers, buoys | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Current meters | 48° 52' 59" N 16° 18' 59" W — Deployment and recovery of baited camera (Bathysnack) |
| Current meters | 48° 57' 59" N 16° 19' 59" W — Recovered and relaid time-lapse sea-floor photographic system (Bathysnap) - originally laid Sep 1995 |
| Chemical oceanography | |
| Oxygen | 48° 49' 59" N 16° 30' 0" W — 4 deployments and recoveries of NIOZ Lander |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | 49° 0' 28" N 16° 18' 0" W — Relaid sediment trap mooring - traps at 100m, 3000m and 100 mab |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | 49° 0' 0" N 16° 21' 0" W — Recovered sediment trap mooring (laid Sep 1995) - traps at 100m, 3000m and 100 mab |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | 48° 54' 59" N 16° 33' 59" W — 2 deployments and recoveries of short term sediment trap (c 30 mab) |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | 48° 55' 59" N 16° 36' 0" W — Deployment and recovery of enrichment module (Biofeed) |
| Sediment traps | 49° 0' 0" N 16° 21' 0" W — Recovered sediment trap mooring (laid Sep 1995) - traps at 100m, 3000m and 100 mab |
| Sediment traps | 49° 0' 28" N 16° 18' 0" W — Relaid sediment trap mooring - traps at 100m, 3000m and 100 mab |
| Sediment traps | 48° 54' 59" N 16° 33' 59" W — 2 deployments and recoveries of short term sediment trap (c 30 mab) |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 47' 59" N 16° 28' 59" W — 2 deployments and recoveries of amphipod trap |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 57' 59" N 16° 19' 59" W — Recovered and relaid time-lapse sea-floor photographic system (Bathysnap) - originally laid Sep 1995 |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 49' 59" N 16° 30' 0" W — 4 deployments and recoveries of NIOZ Lander |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 52' 59" N 16° 18' 59" W — Deployment and recovery of baited camera (Bathysnack) |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 55' 59" N 16° 31' 59" W — Laid Module Autonome de Colonisation (MAC) |
| Zoobenthos | 48° 55' 59" N 16° 36' 0" W — Deployment and recovery of enrichment module (Biofeed) |
| Data held at BODC | |
| Discrete samples | |
| 16 CTD frame plus rosette sampler | Transmittance and attenuance of the water column Salinity of the water column Temperature of the water column Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column Density of the water column Raw fluorometer output |
