RRS Discovery D187
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS Discovery (74E3) |
| Cruise identifier | D187 |
| Cruise period | 1989-10-20 — 1989-11-20 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Port of return | Barry, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | 1. To determine the sedimentary make-up of the Tagus, Horseshoe and Seine Abyssal Plains. To distinguish transported from pelagic sediments and to map as far as possible each lithological unit and determine flow characteristics for the transported units.
2. To identify the sources of the transported sediments in each abyssal plain and to distinguish between locally derived from the surrounding hills and distally derived from the Portuguese and African margins. 3. To determine the timing of turbidite emplacement on each plain and compare this to that determined on other plains. 4. To calculate rates of accumulation and compare this to the thickness of the turbidite sequences as determine from seismic records to estimate the age of the abyssal plains. 5. To investigate the diagenesis and metal relocations in the upper sediments of the plains. |
| Chief scientist | Philip P E Weaver (Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory) |
| Cruise report |  (0.81 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | West and S West of Portugal (Tagus, Horseshoe and Seine Abyssal Plains) |
| Track charts | (0.02 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Core - soft bottom | Quantity: number of cores = 33 Description: +200 chemical & physical analysis; paleontology |
| Single-beam echosounding | Quantity: track kilometres = 2000 Description: bathymetry-narrow beam |
| Single channel seismic reflection | Quantity: track kilometres = 400 |
