RRS Discovery DY072
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Discovery (74EQ) |
| Cruise identifier | DY072 |
| Cruise period | 2017-02-28 — 2017-04-02 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain |
| Port of return | Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | The goal of the Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere Asthenosphere Boundary (PILAB) project is a better understanding of the tectonic plate. The PI-LAB experiment will image the crust and mantle at the same location using a variety of geophysical methods with multiple scales of resolution and sensitivity to determine the defining mechanism of the tectonic plate. Specifically, the project will use passive source seismology and magnetotellurics to image the crust and upper most mantle beneath 0 M.y. to 80 M.y. aged seafloor from the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Chain and Romanche Fracture Zones.
The cruise was to retrieve 39 broadband ocean bottom seismometers and 39 magnetotelleuric instruments that were deployed in March 2016. Before retrieval, we surveryed in the seismic stations to determien precise locations. We also collected gravity, multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and magnetics. Finally, we completed a survery of the Chain Fracture Zone to better constrain local tectonics. |
| Chief scientist | Catherine A Rychert (University of Southampton School of Ocean and Earth Science) |
| Cruise report |  (11 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) South Atlantic Ocean |
| Specific | Central Atlantic |
| Track charts | (0.28 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Multi-beam echosounding | Quantity: number of surveys = 1 Description: Underway geophysical survey of the western end of the Chain Fracture zone. Swath bathymetry, swath sidescan sonar, gravity and total field magnetics measurements. |
| Long/short range side scan sonar | Quantity: number of surveys = 1 Description: Underway geophysical survey of the western end of the Chain Fracture zone. Swath bathymetry, swath sidescan sonar, gravity and total field magnetics measurements. |
| Gravity measurements | Quantity: number of surveys = 1 Description: Underway geophysical survey of the western end of the Chain Fracture zone. Swath bathymetry, swath sidescan sonar, gravity and total field magnetics measurements. |
| Magnetic measurements | Quantity: number of surveys = 1 Description: Underway geophysical survey of the western end of the Chain Fracture zone. Swath bathymetry, swath sidescan sonar, gravity and total field magnetics measurements. |
| Magnetic measurements | Quantity: number of recoveries = 37 Description: Ocean bottom magnetotelluric instruments (OBMT) |
| Other geological/geophysical measurements | Quantity: number of recoveries = 38 Description: Broadband ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) |