RRS Discovery D331T
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Discovery (74E3) |
| Cruise identifier | D331T |
| Cruise period | 2008-07-24 — 2008-08-15 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Portland Harbour, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | St John, Canada |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | This was the second cruise undertaken to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as part of the NERC-funded consortium project (NE/C512961/1) entitled ECOMAR - Ecosystem of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone. ECOMAR - Ecosystem of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone.(http://www.oceanlab.abdn.ac.uk/ecomar/index.php)
ECOMAR forms part of the Census of Marine Life MAR-ECO project which is an international study of life in the northern mid-Atlantic Ocean with scientists from 16 nations participating in research of the waters around the mid-Atlantic Ridge from Iceland to the Azores (http://www.mar-eco.no). ECOMAR is focussed on patterns and processes in an area approximately half way between Iceland and the Azores in the vicinity of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. The fracture zone represents a major discontinuity in the structure of the ridge but is also the latitude at which the north Atlantic current crosses the ridge from west to east delineating the position of the sub-polar front with cooler productive waters to the north and warmer more oligotrophic to the south. A voyage of the RV GO Sars in 2004 had indicated important differences in fauna across this boundary. The first cruise in the ECOMAR series (JC 11) established a detailed bathymetric survey of the 4 sites, deployed long-term moorings at each ECOMAR site, and carried out a series of scientific surveys to build up an understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the area. The second cruise (D331) in the ECOMAR series was meant to continue the detailed scientific survey work and recover, service and redeploy each of the long-term moorings. However, due to the Discovery's extended refit the second cruise was reduced to a trials cruise (D331T) with the specific objectives of: - Recovering, servicing, and redeploying each of the four ECOMAR moorings situated at SE, SW, NE, & NW mooring sites; - Recover, service and redeploy the DOBO Lander; - Recover, and redeploy the ECOMAR Bathysnap Lander; - Recover the PAP Bathysnap Lander; - Perform winch trials. Due to the reduction of D331 to a trials cruise, the remaining ECOMAR cruise programme will be altered to allow research cruises in summer 2009 (RRS James Cooke), and a further cruise in 2010 with the ISIS ROV (RRS James Cook). |
| Chief scientist | Philip Bagley (University of Aberdeen, Oceanlab) |
| Project | ECOMAR |
| Coordinating body | University of Aberdeen, Oceanlab |
| Cruise report |  (7.71 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Atlantic Ocean |
| Specific | Mid-Atlantic Ridge around the Charlie Gibbs fracture zone |
| Track charts | (0.12 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| CTD stations | Quantity: number of profiles = 4 Description: One CTD taken at each of the 4 mooring locations prior to mooring deployment |
| Moorings, landers, buoys | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Current meters | 53° 59' 17" N 36° 7' 23" W — NW Mooring (Sediment traps & current meters) |
| Current meters | 54° 0' 0" N 34° 10' 35" W — NE Mooring (Sediment traps, current meters, & ADCP) |
| Current meters | 49° 2' 35" N 27° 43' 30" W — SE Mooring (Sediment trap & current meters) |
| Current meters | 48° 46' 48" N 28° 38' 24" W — SW Mooring (Sediment trap & current meters) |
| Current profiler (eg ADCP) | 54° 0' 0" N 34° 10' 35" W — NE Mooring (Sediment traps, current meters, & ADCP) |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Sediment traps | 54° 0' 0" N 34° 10' 35" W — NE Mooring (Sediment traps, current meters, & ADCP) |
| Sediment traps | 48° 46' 48" N 28° 38' 24" W — SW Mooring (Sediment trap & current meters) |
| Sediment traps | 49° 2' 35" N 27° 43' 30" W — SE Mooring (Sediment trap & current meters) |
| Sediment traps | 53° 59' 17" N 36° 7' 23" W — NW Mooring (Sediment traps & current meters) |
| Other biological/fisheries measurement | 53° 59' 17" N 36° 11' 42" W — NW Whale bone |
| Other biological/fisheries measurement | 54° 1' 29" N 34° 10' 35" W — NE Whale bone |
| Data held at BODC | |
| Discrete samples | |
| 4 Instrument mooring |
