The RETROSPECT project aims to assimilate data for a high resolution reanalysis of the hydrographic conditions on the shelf off Northern Norway. This data assimilation will feed into a regional model, which can be used to predict the exposure of planktonic organisms to pollutants.
An extensive array of instruments was deployed during a 5-day cruise in April 2016 aboard the RV Johan Hjort in the Vestfjorden region. The campaign was centred around a mooring on the shelf south of Lofoten. Three main station locations for CTD casts were the corners of a triangle around this mooring.
The Air-Sea lab contributed with microstructure-and dissipation profiles of the upper 70 m obtained with ASIP (4 deployments, 127 profiles in total), as well as wave, flux-and meteorological measurements (Ultrawave project) from our bow-mast mounted on the vessel. A wave-rider to the south east of the focus area provides another source of wave information, as well as validation of the ship-mounted wave sensors. In addition surface drifters and a glider were deployed, and an onboard ADCP system was active during the campaign.
Two post-cruise meetings have taken place, (Bergen 2/6/2016, and Galway 3-4/10/2016) in which early findings have been presented and discussed.
An investigation into the physical processes responsible for the spreading of oil products in ice free and ice covered waters to help develop technology for the remediation of Arctic environment and reduction of environmental risks in the Arctic associated with oil contamination.
In March 2015 we conducted an experiment on Pyramid Fjord in Svalbard to detect the impact of waves on the ice. We deployed a series of motions sensors along the frozen fjord and monitored the impact of waves on the ice-covered fjord.
Results of this experiment were published in:
The NICE (oN thIn ICE) is a project collaboration with Ilker Fer at the Geophysical Institute in Bergen.
The overall objective of NICE is to study the role of mixing for the heat and biogeochemical budgets of the Arctic Ocean, the role of ocean heat flux in modulating the ice thickness and area, and the associated feedbacks.
The Air-Sea Lab participated in a 10-day field campaign in the Arctic to deploy ASIP to study mixing in the upper ocean. The cruise was conducted from the R/V Håkon Mosby in September 2014.
In 2013 we took part in the spring leg of the SPURS-I campaign, on the cruise named 'MIDAS' aboard the Spanish ship R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa. The vessel sailed on the 16th of March from the harbour of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria, heading for the SPURS site in the region of the North Atlantic Salinity Maximum.
The cruise objectives were to map the salinity structure of the upper ocean in the area around the central mooring ( ~24.5°N, 38°W see WHOI SPURS), with a towed glider ("SeaSoar"), CTD-casts, surface drifters, and our vertical profiler ASIP.
Brian, Graig and Anneke took part in the cruise, deploying ASIP and looking after the met/flux mast on the bow of the ship, which had been installed by Sebastian and the NUIG technician Stuart Harris before departure.
A clear blue ocean, a great group of international scientists, hard work, good chilling in the beaming sunshine, full moon watching on the bow. A very pleasant 4-week cruise was had, in relatively calm, "evaporative" conditions. Although ASIP required a lot of attention in between deployments, the instrument was deployed successfully on 5 occasions of up to 2 days in a row, resulting in over 550 useful profiles.
... everybody liked to help at least once with deploying/recovering the instrument; It's not every day you get a chance to swim in a 6km deep blue ocean.
The Sub-Tropical Atlantic Surface Salinity Experiment (STRASSE) occurred in September 2012 as part of the SPURS campaign.
From June 24-July 18, 2011 we were invited by Scott Miller (SUNY Albany) for storm and plankton-bloom hunting in the Labrador Sea. On board the R/V-Knorr we sailed from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) with a large range of instruments to measure turbulence, upper ocean microstructure, wave breaking, momentum fluxes and air-sea gas exchange of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Dimethyl Sulfid (DMS).
We were "lucky" and encountered wind speeds above 20 meters/second. But we also had to learn our lesson about the hard live at sea, when we lost our main instrument ASIP during the recovery after the storm. And with it very unique record of upper ocean turbulence profiles. Despite the loss, we were able to obtain a very interesting dataset. The cruise blog gives some insight in the live on board.
The Labrador Sea is a key region for the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), where cooling in winter leads to deep convection and the formation of Labrador Sea Water.
To focus on the importance of near-surface mixing in these deep convective areas, we performed microstructure turbulence measurements using the Air-Sea Interaction Profiler (ASIP) in May 2010 onboard the CCGS Hudson.
This cruise was one of the annual hydrographic cruises to the Labrador sea carried out by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Darthmouth, Canada. It started in St. John and finished at the institute in Darthmouth. During the two weeks in the area, ASIP was deployed for six periods, resulting in a total of 188 profiles that reach down to 100 m depth.