Particle Transport and Carbon Export over the Northwest Atlantic Margin

Ship

R/V Atlantis

Vehicles

Cruise Party

Timothy Eglinton: Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Fye 111, MS#04 Woods Hole, Ma. USA 02543
+1 508 289 2627
teglinton@whoi.edu

Departure: Woods Hole on Sep 10, 2010

Arrival: Woods Hole on Oct 5, 2010

Supporting documentation:

»Sept_10_cruise_version_6-09-10.pdf
»Cruise_track_Sept_2010_ver_6-09-10.xls

Operations Area: Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Lat/Lon: 40° 0.0′ N / 67° 0.0′ W

Depth Range: 200 / 5000

Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? Canada
Are visas or special travel documents required? no

Science objectives

The overall goal of the project is to examine the transport and export of particulate organic carbon (POC) over the NW Atlantic Ocean margin.  Specific objectives are to examine the role of the Deep Western Boundary Current in along-margin transport of POC. It is hypothesized that along- and across-margin transport of POC is important for supply of organic carbon to deep-ocean sediments.  Geochemical investigations of organic matter entrained in bottom and intermediate depth suspended particle (nepheloid) layers as well as sinking particles are planned as well as hydrographic surveys in order to place findings within the context of regional physical oceanography. Hydrographic surveys and sampling will occur along 3 across-margin transects in each case extending from the shelf-break to ~ 5000 m water depth (off Nova Scotia, off Cape Cod, and off Cape Hatteras).

We are planning a series of 3 across-margin transects designed to capture the sources and movement of particulate matter. We will be mostly doing CTD hydrocasts and large-volume (up to 1000L) in-situ filtration with McLane submersible pumps. We will also be deploying 2 sediment trap moorings and we may do some sediment coring (multicorer).  We hope to obtain high vertical and spatial resolution filter samples for detailed analysis of particle abundance and characteristics within intermediate-depth and bottom nepheloid layers. 

Science Activities

Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc. CTD rosette equipped with transmissometer and optical back scatter sensor.

Glider Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) equipped with CTD & optical backscatter sensor.

Sea floor-tethered mooring with Deployment of McLane Mark-7 time-series sediment traps.

Ship’s clean seawater intake.

McLane submrsible pumps (Water Transfer System, WTS).

 

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Visit WHOI

Stations:

Funding Agency: NSF #OCE-0851350

- added NSF #OCE-0851350 on Jun 9, 2010 5:01 PM by Timothy I. Eglinton

R/V Atlantis

Shipboard Equipment

Bathymetry System 12 kHz
Bathymetry System 3.5 kHz
ADCP 150 kHz
Deionized Water System
Science Underway Seawater System
12 kHz Pinger for Wire Use
Navigation - Heading
Multibeam
Fume Hood
Navigation - Position

CTD/Water Sampling

911+ Rosette 24-position, 10-liter bottle Rosette with dual T/C sensors
SBE43 oxygen sensor
Seapoint STM turbidity sensor
Wet Labs C*Star transmissometer (660nm wavelength)
Wet Labs ECO-AFL fluorometer

Critical CTD Sensors: 

Hydrographic Analysis Equipment

Oxygen Sample Bottles (available in 150 ml sizes)
Salinometer
Salt Bottles (2 cases of 125 ml provided)

MET Sensors

Barometric Pressure
Air temperature
Relative Humidity
Wind speed and direction

Sediment Sampling

Multi-core

Sample Storage

Climate Controlled Walk-in
Freezer -70°C 25 cu. ft.
Refrigerator 8.6 cu. ft.
Scientific Walk-in Freezer

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? no

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation for other than Alvin operations? no

Winches

CTD Winch with .322" Electro-mechanical wire
Hydro Winch with .25" hydro wire
Mooring / TSE winch
Trawl Winch with 9/16th trawl wire

Slip ring required? no	Number of conductors:
Non-standard wire required? no	Type:
Traction winch required? no	Describe:

Portable Vans

Isotope Van

Other Science Vans:

Specialized Deck Equipment

Mooring Deployment/Recovery Equipment Required: no	Type:
Cruise Specific Science Winch Required: no	Type:
Nets Required: no	Type:

Over the Side Equipment

Will you be bringing any equipment (winches, blocks, etc.) that lowers instruments over the side? no

Special Requirements

Elecrical Power: no	Identify:
Equipment Handling: no	Identify:
Inter/intraship Communications: no	Identify:
Science Stowage: no	Identify:
Water: no	Identify:

Additional Cruise Items/Activities

Explosive Devices: no Portable Air Compressors: no Flammable Gases: no

Small Boat Operations: no SCUBA Diving Operations: no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? yes

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: yes

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? yes

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other):  Seabeam?

Other required equipment and special needs: 
Date Submitted: Jun 9, 2010 5:19 PM by Timothy I. Eglinton