FRV Alba Na Mara 1008A
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ship name (ship code) | FRV Alba Na Mara (74NM) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cruise identifier | 1008A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cruise period | 2008-09-24 — 2008-10-02 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Completed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port of departure | Fraserburgh, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port of return | Fraserburgh, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purpose | Fisheries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Objectives | Objectives
1. To collect seabed sediment cores and grab samples from a range of sediment types in an area up to 10km offshore between Catterline and Porthlethen off the east coast of Scotland. 2. Conduct experiments on the collected cores aboard the ship, involving incubating cores in a tank on deck, and measurements in the laboratory. 3. Collect hydrographic, water and plankton data and samples at each core collection site, and at the routine Stonehaven monitoring site. 4. Deploy a vertical dip camera frame at core and grab collection sites to obtain images of the seabed. 5. Carry out Roxann and thermosalinograph surveying within the study area 6. To re-lay a Datawell wave rider buoy off Aberdeen beach. Narrative The vessel sailed from Fraserburgh shortly before midday on 24 September and made a passage to Aberdeen Bay where the Datawell waverider buoy was deployed without difficulty. The vessel then anchored for the night and various of the coring and hydrographic equipment were tested. The following day (25 September) Alba na Mara headed south into the study area, anchoring each night in Stonehaven Bay. On each of 6 days in the area, the vessel completed a full 12h programme of work with no loss of time due to weather, or equipment failures. Due to imminent bad weather, the vessel headed north to Fraserburgh on the evening of 30 September rather than remaining at Stonehaven and making the passage on 1 October, arriving at 0100. However, this did not interfere with scientific work on samples, which continued aboard the ship during 1 October in Fraserburgh harbour. The scientific programme was divided between 4 tasks: 1) collection of sediment cores with associated CTD data, and measurements on the cores aboard the ship, 2) collection of seabed video footage and grab samples, sieving of the grab samples through various sieves and analysis of the fauna collected, 3) daily completion of standard hydroplankton sampling (CTD, water sampling, zooplankton sampling) at the Stonehaven monitoring site (5km offshore from Stonehaven), 4) Roxann and thermosalinograph surveying. The experimental measurements on each sediment core (permeability, oxygen uptake, nutrient fluxes and vertical profiles) took 2 days to complete. The collection of cores was therefore staged through the survey since space, personnel and equipment limited the conduct of the experiments to approximately 9 cores at any one time, with a minimum of 3 replicates being required for each site. During the course of the survey, measurements were completed on cores from 7 sites ranging from mud to mixed sand/gravel. An additional constraint was that the operation of the corer required as close as possible to slack tide conditions. Video and grab sampling was carried out at 48 sites selected according to a stratified sampling scheme based on sediment classes defined from a previously conducted Roxann and QTC/Swathe bathymetry survey. 3 grab samples were sieved through a 5mm mesh sieve and the fauna sorted and identified at sea. A further grab sample was sieved through 1mm and 0.5mm sieves and preserved for later analysis, and a subsample saved for grain size and elemental analysis. Thermosalinograph and Roxann data were collected continuously throughout the cruise. In addition, detailed Roxann surveying was carried out on 30th September within 1nm x 1nm areas centred on two of the coring sites, with survey tracks at 100m spacing. The core sites selected were in areas of extremely diverse sediment and the data were collected to aid return to the site and reliable future sample collections. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chief scientist | Mike R Heath (Fisheries Research Services Aberdeen Marine Laboratory) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project | MF0758, AE11q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cruise programme |  (0.02 MB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cruise report | (0.91 MB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ocean/sea areas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General | North Sea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specific | North Sea, off Aberdeen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track charts | (0.25 MB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data held at BODC | Get data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series/Profiles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 CTD/STD cast | Reference numbers Transmittance and attenuance of the water column Salinity of the water column Temperature of the water column Vertical spatial coordinates Electrical conductivity of the water column Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies Reference numbers Transmittance and attenuance of the water column Salinity of the water column Temperature of the water column Vertical spatial coordinates Electrical conductivity of the water column Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies
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