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RRS James Cook JC010_1 (JC10)

Cruise summary report

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)RRS James Cook (740H)
Cruise identifierJC010_1 (JC10)
Cruise period2007-05-13 — 2007-06-02
StatusCompleted
Port of departureVigo, Spain
Port of returnCadiz, Spain
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesThe major objective of RRS James Cook 10 was to increase our understanding of how seafloor environmental variables affect the biodiversity, structure, function and dynamics of faunal communities in two specific 'biological hotspot' environments, mud volcanoes and submarine canyons, on the NE Atlantic continental slope. The cruise was jointly supported by OCEANS 2025 (Theme 5) and the EU Hotspot Environment Research on the Margins of European Seas (HERMES) project.

The cruise comprises three legs, of which this is the first.

The objective of this leg was to improve understanding of the processes involved in transporting organic-rich fluids from the geosphere into the biosphere. To achieve this goal, a series of ROV dives investigating mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz, addressing the following scientific questions:

1) What are the rates of fluid venting and what is the source of the fluids?
2) What is the composition of cold-seep communities associated with the mud volcanoes and how do these compare to cold-seep communities from other areas in the Atlantic and elsewhere?
3) What is the total contribution of mud volcanoes to the carbon cycle in the Gulf of Cadiz?
4) Does the new NOC methane sensors produce good results at a range of water depths?
Chief scientistPhilip P E Weaver (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton)
ProjectHERMES
Coordinating bodyNOCS
Cruise reportRRS James Cook JC010_1 (JC10) cruise report jc010.pdf (4.15 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralNorth East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W)
SpecificGulf of Cadiz
Track chartsRRS James Cook JC010_1 (JC10) cruise track — jc010trk.pdf (0.20 MB) 
Measurements 
Chemical oceanography 
OxygenQuantity: number of samples = 89
Description: Aquamonitor water samples collected at depth for later analysis of oxygen, nutrients, ICP spectrometer measurements and methane
Other dissolved gasesQuantity: number of samples = 89
Description: Aquamonitor water samples collected at depth for later analysis of oxygen, nutrients, ICP spectrometer measurements and methane
Other chemical oceanographic measurementsQuantity: number of samples = 89
Description: Aquamonitor water samples collected at depth for later analysis of oxygen, nutrients, ICP spectrometer measurements and methane
Biology and fisheries 
Other biological/fisheries measurementQuantity: number of samples = 18
Description: biological: 2 colonisation, 6 scoop, 4 suction and 6 claw samples
Geology and geophysics 
Core - soft bottomQuantity: number of cores = 99
Description: 12 piston cores, 14 megacores, 19 gravity cores, 1 K core and 53 push cores
In-situ seafloor measurement/samplingQuantity: number of surveys = 21
Description: ISIS ROV dives to investigate mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz, swath bathymetry
Other geological/geophysical measurementsQuantity: number of samples = 36
Description: Heatflow
Other geological/geophysical measurementsQuantity: number of samples = 16
Description: Rock
Data held at BODC 
Discrete samples 
8  Gravity Corer
12  Piston corerNitrogen concentrations in suspended particulate material
Carbon concentrations in sediment