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Back to the Sea

September 20, 2018

The crew of the research vessel Neil Armstrong and WHOI mooring technicians return a seafloor tripod into the Labrador Sea southwest of Greenland for another two-year deployment as part of the Overturning in the Sub-polar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP). OSNAP is an international program designed to provide a continuous record of physical, chemical, and biological conditions in from seafloor to sea surface. The sub-polar North Atlantic is a critical part of Earth’s climate system because it is where north-flowing water releases heat to the atmosphere before sinking to help drive the global thermohaline circulation sometimes known as the “ocean conveyor belt.” (Photo by Joe McCabe, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)