Denmark Strait

Ship

R/V Knorr

Vehicles

Cruise Party

Robert Pickart: Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Clark 359B, MS#21 Woods Hole, Ma. USA 02543
+1 508 289 2858
rpickart@whoi.edu

Michael Spall: Principal Investigator
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Clark 311A, MS#21 Woods Hole, Ma. USA 02543
+1 508 289 3342
mspall@whoi.edu

Departure: Reykjavik, Iceland on Aug 22, 2011

Arrival: Isafjorour, Iceland on Sep 22, 2011

Mobilization Date: Aug 20, 2011

Demobilization Date: Sep 24, 2011

Supporting documentation:

Operations Area: Northern Iceland extending east toward Faroe Islands up north to Jan Mayan Island

Lat/Lon: 72° 0.0′ N / 2° 0.0′ W

Depth Range: 200 / 2000

Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? Iceland and Greenland
Are visas or special travel documents required? yes

Science objectives

This project investigates the sources of water feeding the Denmark Strait Overflow
Water. It is a collaborative field program between the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution (WHOI), the Marine Research Institute of Reykjavik (MRI), the University of
Bergen (UIB), and the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). Our approach is to
deploy a year-long set of moorings from August 2011 to August 2012, and carry out a
shipboard hydrographic/velocity survey of the region during the mooring deployment and
recovery cruises. Moorings will be maintained upstream of the Denmark Strait sill in the
major components of the circulation, as well as in the overflow water at the sill itself (see
the attached figure showing the mooring locations). The main scientific objective of the
program is to quantify the different water mass components, transports, and pathways
feeding the overflow water, and to understand the dynamics of the warm-to-cold
conversion of water that forms the overflow.

Science Activities

The primary activities on the 2011 cruise are as follows:
(i) Mooring Work (see the attached figure showing the mooring locations). We will
deploy 12 new moorings across the northern part of Denmark Strait along the Kogur Line
(Note: a PIES instrument will also be deployed along the line for IFM-Hamburg).
Additionally, we will turn-around 4 existing moorings, 1 near the Denmark Strait sill and
3 to the northeast at the Hornbanki Line.
(ii) CTD Survey (see the attached figure showing tentative CTD lines). We will carry-out
a CTD survey, on the order of 300 full-depth casts. Water sampling will be minimal (salt
samples only).
(iii) Velocity survey. We will use the vessel-mounted ADCPs extensively to survey the
water currents.

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Visit WHOI

Media personnel on board: Video, Writer, Teacher(s)
We have two types of outreach. (1) A team of 4-5 people will be performing outreach for the general public and for school children in roughly 10 schools. We will have onboard 1-2 teachers, a writer, a photographer, and a videographer. (2) We will have a camera man from National Geographic TV onboard, filming for an episode in an upcoming show about the oceans.

Stations:

  Station 1
  Distance: null
  Days: null
  Latitude: 25° 14.0’ N
  Longitude: 68° 0.333’ W

Funding Agency: NSF #OCE-0959381

- added NSF #OCE-0959381 on Jun 15, 2011 9:52 AM by Robert S. Pickart

R/V Knorr

Shipboard Equipment

Bathymetry System 12 kHz
ADCP 300 kHz
Sippican XBT System (Mark 21)
Bathymetry System 3.5 kHz
ADCP 75 kHz

Shipboard Communication

Is there a need to transfer data to shore on a regular basis?
Is there an expectation to use Skype or any other real-time video conference program?
Basic Internet access via HiSeasNet

CTD/Water Sampling

Wet Labs ECO-AFL fluorometer
Seapoint STM turbidity sensor
SBE43 oxygen sensor
911+ Rosette 24-position, 10-liter bottle Rosette with dual T/C sensors

Critical CTD Sensors: 

Hydrographic Analysis Equipment

Salinometer
Salt Bottles (2 cases of 125 ml provided)

MET Sensors

Barometric Pressure
Air temperature
Precipitation
Relative Humidity
Wind speed and direction
Short Wave Solar Radiation


Storage Notes:

Navigation

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

Will you be using Doppler/GPS navigation? no

Navigation Notes: Standard navigation

Winches

Trawl Winch with .680 Coax
CTD Winch with .322" Electro-mechanical wire

Winch Notes: Will use the trawl winch if any mooring dragging operations are required.

Wire use and application

CTD Winch with .322" Electro-mechanical wire
Trawl Winch with 9/16th trawl wire


Wire Notes:

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

Other Science Vans:

Other Science Vans:

Science Van 1
Type/size: rag-top van for mooring gear storage		Location:
Water:		Power:

Specialized Deck Equipment

Mooring Deployment/Recovery Equipment Required: no	Type:
Cruise Specific Science Winch Required: yes	Type: TSE mooring winch
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: yes SCUBA Diving Operations: no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? no

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? yes

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other): The vessel-mounted ADCP data are crucial to the experiment.

Other required equipment and special needs: 
Date Submitted: Jun 15, 2011 2:00 PM by Eric Benway