FRV Scotia 1316S
Cruise plan
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | FRV Scotia (748S) |
| Cruise identifier | 1316S |
| Cruise period | 2016-09-10 — 2016-09-23 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Scrabster, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Aberdeen, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | Objectives
1. Visual survey of deepwater habitats using HD VMUX in the Faroe-Shetland channel, Rosemary bank and cold-seep site west of Rockall. 2. Trawl survey to document fish community from ~ 300 m to ~1800 m in the Faroe-Shetland channel and at Rosemary bank. 3. Sample benthic fauna using Agassiz trawl and trawl ground-gear bags in all areas. 4. Sample a range of species of fish and invertebrates for analysis of contaminants and sensory assessment. 5. Obtain sediment samples from FSC and cold seep site using gravity core 6. Trial use of Aquatracka. 7. Recover by acoustic release DOBO lander deployed in 2015 from 1800 m water depth east of Rockall. General Scotia will work in three main areas that have special importance to conservation and/or are marine protected areas: the northern area of the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC), the Rosemary Bank and an area approximately 40 miles west of Rockall where a 'cold-seep' ecosystem was discovered in 2015. Fishing and Agassiz trawl sampling operations will generally be carried out during daytime and visual surveys will be at night. The Agassiz trawl will be deployed from the hanger deck using the plankton crane in order to obtain benthic samples for validation of video transects. Gravity coring will be on an opportunistic basis. The gravity core will be deployed from the hanger deck using the plankton crane at select areas in the FSC in water depths up-to approximately 1300 m. Some flexibility in scheduling may be necessary to maximize the opportunity for visual survey during favourable weather conditions. Water and plankton sampling will also be carried out at predetermined sites. Scotia will first head to the station 'FSC core site', shown on the map below, which is approximately 24 hours steam from Scrabster, and undertake TV and gravity core work. Upon completion here she will then head further north for deepwater trawling and further TV surveys. Passage (approximately 24 hours) will then be made south stopping at a site just south of the Wyville Thomson ridge for TV survey and Agassiz sampling. After this the vessel will continue to Rosemary Bank for a further two to three days' work. At this point, depending on weather conditions, a decision will need to be made as when to try to retrieve the 'whale bone' deep ocean benthic observatory (DOBO) lander as this will require a relatively calm sea state. This may be during or after sampling at Rosemary bank. If weather is not conducive to retrieval of the DOBO, Scotia will continue to the cold seep area west of Rockall for two days TV, Agassiz trawl and gravity core sampling. This would leave two days to recover the DOBO lander and, if recovered quickly, the possibility of further sampling and deepwater trawling in the same area. |
| Chief scientist | Francis C Neat (Marine Scotland Aberdeen Marine Laboratory) |
| Cruise programme |  (0.13 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | Faroe-Shetland channel, Rosemary bank, Rockall |
| Track charts | (0.13 MB) |
