Reykjanes Ridge Fracture Zones

Ship

RV Neil Armstrong

Vehicles

Cruise Party

Fernando Martinez: Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
1680 East West Road, POST Bldg. Rm. 814a Honolulu, HI USA 96826
+1 808 956 6882
fernando@hawaii.edu

Departure: Reykjavik on Jun 24, 2019

Arrival: Reykjavik on Jul 29, 2019

Mobilization Date: Jun 23, 2019

Demobilization Date: Jul 30, 2019

Supporting documentation:

Operations Area: North Atlantic south of Iceland

Lat/Lon: 60° 0.0′ N / 34° 0.0′ W

Depth Range: 100 / 6000

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

Science objectives

We plan to carry out a marine geophysical survey primarily on the western flank area of the Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland. The objectives are to understand how transform faults first formed on this ridge following an abrupt change in plate opening direction and how they were later removed by the ridge reestablishing its original linear configuration.  A shorter survey of the eastern flank will be used to test various mechanisms that appear to create asymmetries in this process. We want to understand the tectonic and mantle controls on plate boundary reconfigurations and evolution and how they vary with distance from the Iceland "hotspot".

Science Activities

To carry out this study we will use a towed magnetometer to record the magnetic isochrons showing when offset ridge segments first formed and how they evolved to remove the offsets. We will use multibeam data (EM122) to map any basement outcrops and tectonic structures formed.  We will use the sediment profiler to examine sediment thicknesses and disturbances where possible. Ship gravity data will also be acquired to estimate crustal thickness changes. All of these data sets will be acquired continuously and simultaneously at the maximum practical survey speed for the duration of the cruise

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Teleconference

Teleconference and email should be sufficent for cruise planning.

Stations:

Funding Agency: NSF #OCE-1756760

- added NSF #OCE-1756760 on Apr 26, 2019 6:07 PM by
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R/V Armstrong

Shipboard Equipment

Sippican XBT System (Mark 21)
EM122 (12 kHz) Multibeam Echosounder
Plotters
EM710 MkII (40 to 100 kHz) Multibeam Echosounder
Gravimeter
Towed Magnetometer


Shipboard Equipment Notes: Underway data acquisition should begin as soon as practical after leaving port and continue until return to port.  We request the standard 2 year proprietary data hold on the multibeam, magnetics, gravity and sediment profiler data.  We would also like the EM712 multibeam to operate while in shallow areas near Iceland. We request daily XBT acquistion for multibeam calibration.  Although not an essential part of our project, we request ADCP system to operate and obtain data that may be useful for planning future projects using near bottom instruments in shallow areas.

Shipboard Communication

Basic Internet access via HiSeasNet
Is there a need to receive data from shore on a regular basis?
Is there a need to transfer data to shore on a regular basis?


Shipboard Communication Notes:

Computers may need to access licensing sites to operate software.

We intend to send data plots or sample digital data (not large volume data sets) to onshore scientist. 

It is possible software updates may be needed on an occasional basis.

Critical CTD Sensors: 

MET Sensors

Barometric Pressure
Air temperature
Wind speed and direction


Storage Notes: No storage needed.

Navigation

GPS
ITAR

Navigation Notes: The Bell BGM-3 shipboard gravimeter may needd ITAR clearance.

Winches

Other Portable Winch

Winch Notes: Small WHOI-supplied magnetometer winch needed to deploy and retreive magnetometer.



Wire Notes: A WHOI-supplied towed magnetometer cable will be used with the WHOI-supplied magnetometer.

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

Other Science Vans:

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? no

Describe deployment method and quantity:
None.

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? yes

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other): 

We will be acquiring underway data continuously so two marine techs may be needed. 

Someone knowledgeable with the Simrad EM 122 multibeam system will be needed for setup and troubleshooting purposes, but we intend to process the data ourselves.

Other required equipment and special needs: 

Any extra available computer monitors to attach to our laptops it would be convenient, but not essential.  Large-format plotter use would help to monitor bathymetry data acquisition progress and quality.

 

 

Date Submitted: Apr 26, 2019 7:36 PM