Resources

RRS Charles Darwin CD178

Cruise summary report

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)RRS Charles Darwin (74AB)
Cruise identifierCD178
Cruise period2006-03-14 — 2006-04-11
StatusCompleted
Port of departureAvonmouth, United Kingdom
Port of returnCartagena, Spain
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesThe major aims of Charles Darwin cruise 178 were to obtain:
(i) 3D seismic imagery, video transects and swath bathymetry maps of mud volcanoes in the southern Gulf of Cadiz,
(ii) video transects across suspected cold water coral reefs in the Alboran Sea, and
(iii) 3D seismic imagery of submarine landslides in the Eivissa Channel, immediately east of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea.

The cruise was in support of the EU Framework 6 'HERMES' project (Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas). A total of four 3D seismic cubes and 10 successful video transects were completed. Live chemosynthetic communities found on one mud volcano in the Gulf of Cadiz appear to indicate active methane seepage. Images of gas-charged sediments in areas of submarine landsliding in the Eivissa Channel appear to indicate a direct linkage between landsliding and fluid escape.
Chief scientistChristian Berndt (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton), Douglas G Masson (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton)
ProjectHERMES
Coordinating bodyEU (FP6)
Cruise reportRRS Charles Darwin CD178 cruise report cd178.pdf (1.65 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralMediterranean Sea
SpecificSouthern Gulf of Cadiz; Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean Sea
Track chartsRRS Charles Darwin CD178 cruise track — cd178track.pdf (0.24 MB) 
Measurements 
Geology and geophysics 
Bottom photographyQuantity: number of stations = 12
Description: Video transects using the NOC 'SHRIMP' system; each transect between 2 an 6 hr in length
Multi-beam echosoundingQuantity: activity duration in days = 4
Description: Simrad EM12 multibeam data
Single channel seismic reflectionQuantity: activity duration in days = 17
Description: 3.5 kHz high-resolution profiles collected continuously during science operations
Multichannel seismic reflectionQuantity: activity duration in days = 13
Description: 3D seismic data collected using the NOV Pcable system. Four 3D 'cubes' completed, two in Gulf of Cadiz and 2 in the western Mediterranean off Ibiza