research expeditions

Today we deployed the US Naval Electronic Lab (USNEL) Box Corer which collects large samples of sediment from the seabed. The corer is lowered by wire into the sea and its design allows a free flow of water through the frame, which helps with a speedy descent.

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Late last night the team deployed a CTD and as soon as it had been recovered several hours later, we set to work collecting and analysing the samples. We are looking at the composition of the phytoplankton that lives in surface waters and how they might be influenced by climate change.

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Just after 07:00 this morning we began recovery of the PAP 1 sensor array. This includes a Met Office ODAS (Ocean Data Acquisition System) buoy.

ODAS measures air pressure, air and sea temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, wave height and period and was coupled to a mooring wire fitted with marine sensors before being deployed at the PAP…

This morning the technical team used an acoustic release system to free the sediment traps that were deployed at the PAP site from the research vessel Celtic Explorer in September 2010. Principal Scientist Henry Ruhl and Marine Technician Corinne Pebody watched from the bridge until the PAP 3 buoys, on the traps, were spotted.

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On Monday most folks in the science party started research activity when we reached Goban Spur where we collected water and sediment samples. The sampling tubes on the megacorer fill with sediment as the instrument lands on the sea bed.

On Monday we experienced a challenge when recovery of the corer initially yielded very little sediment. Despite…

This morning, as we headed for Goban Spur, we were accompanied by a pod of common dolphin. Keeping pace easily with the ship, they jumped and flew through the choppy surface waters.

Once on station, the crew set to work deploying the conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) sensor array on a metal frame also equipped with a rosette of 24 sampling…

Last night the team ensured that kit was secured and ready for the science programme. Sea water bottles were lashed together, boxes stowed carefully and equipment attached to work-benches... knowledge of DIY is handy when you work at sea!

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On Sunday 24 July the Royal Research Ship James Cook will head out from Falmouth into the deep Northeast Atlantic on a research expedition to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP).

The PAP site is the longest running deep-ocean time-series observatory in Europe, and is an important component of the EuroSITES and OceanSITES international networks of deep…