Caribbean Sea: Cayman Trough and Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre

Air pressure; Atmospheric humidity; Raw fluorometer output; Bathymetry and Elevation; Magnetics; Side-scan sonar; Raw suspended particulate material concentration sensor output; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Metadata parameters; Sound velocity and travel time in the water column; Horizontal spatial co-ordinates; Platform or instrument orientation; Electrical conductivity of the water column; Air temperature; Raw light meter output; Wind strength and direction

Anemometers; fluorometers; current profilers; thermosalinographs; multi-beam echosounders; magnetometers; underwater cameras; cameras; salinity sensor; salinometers; Differential Global Positioning System receivers; CTD; transmissometers; current meters; water temperature sensor; meteorological packages

This dataset consists of underway meteorology, navigation and sea surface hydrography measurements from cruise JC044 and JC082 as well as 7 CTD casts from cruise JC082 and data collected from autonomous and remotely-operated underwater vehicle deployments on both cruises. Data were collected on two RRS James Cook cruises, JC044 and JC082, covering the Cayman Trough and Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre in the Caribbean Sea. Cruise JC044 took place between 25 March and 22 April 2010 and cruise JC082 took place between 06 February and 08 March 2013. Navigation data were collected using an Applanix POSMV system; meteorology and sea surface hydrography were collected using the NMF Surfmet system. Both systems were run through the duration of the cruise, except during cleaning, entering and leaving port, and while alongside. CTD data were obtained from a Seabird SBE CTD system fitted to a rosette and launched at stations along the cruise track. Autosub 6000, NOC ISIS ROV, HyBIS and TOBI underwater vehicles completed numerous survey transects to collect ADCP, CTD, bathymetry, sidescan sonar, magnetics, video, sediment samples and water samples. Data were collected as part of the NERC-funded project "Hydrothermal activity and deep-ocean biology of the Mid-Cayman Rise", which aimed to investigate the world's deepest undersea volcanic ridge, the Mid-Cayman Rise, to advance understanding of patterns of biodiversity in the planet's largest ecosystem. By studying the geology and hydrography of the world's deepest seafloor spreading centre using established techniques, the project aimed to confirm the geological processes driving the vents and to reveal the evolutionary genetic relationships of their inhabitants to those in vents elsewhere. The project was funded by two NERC standard grants. The lead grant, NE/F017774/1, ran from 15 September 2009 to 01 March 2014, and was led by principal investigator Dr Jonathan T P Copley of University of Southampton, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences. The child grant, NE/F017758/1, ran from 19 July 2009 to 31 December 2013, and was led by Dr B J Murton of National Oceanography Centre, Science and Technology. Data have not yet been received at BODC.

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