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RRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75)

Cruise summary report

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)RRS James Clark Ross (74JC)
Cruise identifierJR20020615 (JR75)
Cruise period2002-06-15 — 2002-07-10
StatusCompleted
Port of departureLeith, United Kingdom
Port of returnStornoway, United Kingdom
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesThis cruise directly addressed the following SAMS Northern Seas programme elements:
Theme A, Question 4
How does bioturbation vary in response to environmental forcing and what are the consequences for redistribution of anthropogenic contaminants?
How does the anthropogenic burden change along a northern transect of 4 stations (67 to 81 N)?
Theme A, Question 5
To deliver an understanding of the effect of abrupt climate change and land use on fjordic/sea loch systems, which link the marine and terrestrial environments at high latitudes in Northwest Europe.
Theme B, Question 2
To what extent does benthic faunal composition and size structure determine processes of carbon dynamics ?
Can we link changes in regional patterns in sediment biogeochemistry with disparate patterns in benthic distributions?
Bioturbation processes form the interface between seabed biology and geochemistry. The 'environmental forcing' referred to in the programme is likely to vary both with depth (eg. fjordic-shelf-slope-abyss) and latitude (north-south gradients in intensity and interannual variability of pulsed OM input). Bioturbation therefore provides a crossover between the two main themes of the Northern Seas programme.
Work to be carried out from JCR should be seen as an essential supplement to the Wyville-Thomson work carried out on D257. To test the reality or otherwise of benthic biogeochemical 'provinces' we require comparable data from a range of sites in the water masses north and south of the WT Ridge (differences between our WTN and WTS stations does not in itself amount to a demonstration of 'provinces'). The WTS results can be put alongside existing data from previous studies in the Atlantic water mass (BENBO, SES), but at present we need more stations north of the ridge to compare with WTN.
Chief scientistGraham B Shimmield (Scottish Association for Marine Science)
ProjectSAMS - Northern Seas programme
Cruise reportRRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75) cruise report jr75.pdf (1.23 MB)  RRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75) cruise report jr75appendixa.pdf (2.68 MB)  RRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75) cruise report jr75appendixb.pdf (0.05 MB)  RRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75) cruise report jr75appendixc.pdf (0.14 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralNorth Sea
Track chartsRRS James Clark Ross JR20020615 (JR75) cruise track — jr75track.pdf (0.19 MB) 
Measurements 
Physical oceanography 
BathythermographQuantity: number of deployments = 119
Description: XBT's were deployed at various points throughout the cruise.
CTD stationsQuantity: number of profiles = 32
Description: CTD profiles were made during the cruise.
Subsurface temperature and salinity measurementsQuantity: number of profiles = 32
Description: CTD profiles were made during the cruise.
Subsurface temperature and salinity measurementsQuantity: number of recoveries = 2
Description: During the cruise moorings were recovered.
Subsurface temperature and salinity measurementsQuantity: number of deployments = 11
Description: Throughout the cruise the lander was deployed several times to collect samples.
Subsurface temperature measurementsQuantity: number of recoveries = 2
Description: During the cruise moorings were recovered.
Current metersQuantity: number of recoveries = 2
Description: During the cruise moorings were recovered.
Chemical oceanography 
OxygenQuantity: number of deployments = 11
Description: Throughout the cruise the lander was deployed several times to collect samples.
Biology and fisheries 
Phytoplankton pigs (eg chlorophyll, fluorescence)Quantity: number of recoveries = 2
Description: During the cruise moorings were recovered.
Sediment trapsQuantity: number of recoveries = 2
Description: During the cruise moorings were recovered.
Geology and geophysics 
Core - soft bottomQuantity: number of samples = 10
Description: Sediment samples were collected throughout the cruise using the gravity core
Core - soft bottomQuantity: number of samples = 28
Description: Multi-core samples were taken during the cruise.
Core - soft bottomQuantity: number of samples = 23
Description: NIOZ box-corer samples were collected throughout the cruise.
Core - soft bottomQuantity: number of samples = 17
Description: The mega-corer was used to gain sea floor samples.
Bottom photographyQuantity: number of images = 13
Description: BedHop camera proflier was used.