Resources

RRS Charles Darwin CD174

Cruise summary report

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)RRS Charles Darwin (74AB)
Cruise identifierCD174
Cruise period2005-08-11 — 2005-09-08
StatusCompleted
Port of departureFairlie, United Kingdom
Port of returnFairlie, United Kingdom
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesLong (Part 1): Selected landscapes on the outer shelf between Ireland and the Outer Isles west of Scotland surveyed with high resolution profile equipment, including sparker and boomer. The areas surveyed cover a range of topographies typical of the area, including rock platform areas (Stanton Banks), Intrusions (Laconia Bank), iceberg plough-marked seabed (shelf edge), carbonate banks, topographic hollows with soft sediment infill (Malin Deep), active sediment banks and waves Hempton's Turbot Bank and NW Islay. This will allow greater resolution on BGS seabed sediments and Quaternary maps for the area, in particular providing morphological characterization. These surveys will improve the geological mapping resolution, in particular identifying various substrates, and allow extrapolation of the associated seabed habitat using BGS extensive profile database. The data will be integrated with swath survey, video and sample data to be collected by partner organizations within EU Interreg IIIb project MESH and used to test habitat mapping protocols.
Holmes (Parts 2 and 3): MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, ADJACENT IRISH AND UK ZONES ROCKALL TROUGH
1. Tie Barra Fan and Donegal Fan seismic stratigraphy to 5 secs two-way time
2. Comparison geological events on west and east flanks Rockall Trough UK and Irish zones
3. Investigation of timing, distribution and style of modern and historical submarine landslides and climate feedback into remobilisation of glacial, interglacial and contouritic sediments
4. Investigation of modern seabed processes in relation to sediment type and seabed features
5. Assessment of mass balance source to sink
Chief scientistDavid G Wallis (British Geological Survey Marine Operations)
ProjectContinental Shelf and Margins
Coordinating bodyBritish Geological Survey (BGS)
Cruise reportRRS Charles Darwin CD174 cruise report cd174.pdf (1.22 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralInner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland
North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W)
Track chartsRRS Charles Darwin CD174 cruise track — cd174roscop4752trk1.pdf (0.09 MB)  RRS Charles Darwin CD174 cruise track — cd174roscop4752trk2.pdf (0.11 MB) 
Measurements 
Geology and geophysics 
Single-beam echosoundingQuantity: track kilometres = 5000
Description: Precision echosounder Simrad EA500 recorded in MGD77.
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 200
Description: Sparker single channel, to approximately 1500m water depth only, simultaneously with airgun, pinger, multibeam
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 5500
Description: Pinger 3.5khz, from approximately 500-2500m+ water depth, simultaneously with airgun, sparker to approx. 1500m water depth and multibeam
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: survey square kilometres = 20700
Description: EM12 multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, from approximately 500-2500m+ water depth, simultaneously along airgun lines, sparker lines to approximately 1500m water depth, pinger
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 550
Description: Sparker single channel, simultaneously with surface tow boomer
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 1080
Description: Airgun single channel, from approximately 500-2500m+ water depth, simultaneously with sparker to approx. 1500m water depth, pinger, multibeam
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: track kilometres = 500
Description: Surface tow boomer, simultaneously with sparker single channel
Gravity measurementsQuantity: track kilometres = 5000
Description: Marine gravity meter. Recorded in Ultrasys Long Format and MGD77.
Magnetic measurementsQuantity: track kilometres = 4000
Description: Proton magnetometer recorded in MGD77.
Data held at BODC Get data
Series/Profiles 
1  Multi-beam echosounder
Reference numbers
Horizontal spatial co-ordinates
Bathymetry and Elevation
Reference numbers
Horizontal spatial co-ordinates
Bathymetry and Elevation

BODC idDate/TimeLocationDoc.
10302512005-08-30 12:00 56° 29' 51" N  13° 19' 56" W — 57° 44' 5" N  9° 12' 26" W  View metadata report for BODC series reference number 1030251