The DY174 expedition will see the servicing of the RAPID-AMOC 26°N array, which was first deployed in April 2004 as part of the RAPID Programme.

This expedition marks the 20th anniversary of intensive study of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) enabled by the RAPID array. This makes it one of the longest running, continual sustained deep-ocean observation arrays in the world. So far observations, using cutting-edge technology and instruments, secured across a section of ocean 5,000m deep, have revolutionised the understanding of the AMOC’s variability and documented its impacts on our long term climate and seasonal European weather.

Check out our infographic celebrating 20 years of intensive study of the AMOC, which has seen researchers around the world collaborate on 38 expeditions!

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Dr Ben Moat

7 days

Subtropical Atlantic. The DY174 expedition will sail from Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Spain on 27 March 2024 docking back in Santa Cruz on 3 April 2024

Science

The RAPID-AMOC 26°N project makes observations of the AMOC in collaboration with colleagues from University of Miami and NOAA in the USA. The UK component of this project is an array of moorings in the subtropical Atlantic. The are two main sub-arrays: the first is on the western boundary close to the Bahamas, the second is on the Eastern boundary close to the Canary Islands.

What is the AMOC?

The AMOC is a complex system of ocean currents that has a surprisingly direct influence on the weather and climate on land. The secret of the importance of the AMOC lies in its ability to move heat over thousands of kilometres from one end of the Atlantic Ocean to another.

Even small changes in the strength of the AMOC, and especially the rate at which it transports warm water to the North Atlantic, can bring about large changes in the air temperature and rainfall that we receive in the UK. It can change rainfall in the Amazon Basin and over central Africa, the strength of hurricanes in the Caribbean, and even the severity of monsoons in southeast Asia.

RRS Discovery

RRS Discovery