R/V Roger Revelle Expedition KNOX03RR

CLIVAR/CO2 cruise I8S

Chief Scientist Weekly Report 1, 05 February 2007

1400 local; 48.6 °S, 167.3 °E; air temp 10 °C, wind 8 knots from NW

R/V Roger Revelle left the dock at Dunedin, New Zealand, at 1606 local time Sunday, 04 February 2007, Captain Dave Murline in command, beginning the CLIVAR/CO2 line pair I8S and I9N, to be carried out during the next three months, with a port stop planned for 18-22 March in Fremantle, Australia, during which many of the scientific party will change out.

The cruise plan includes completing the first occupation of an Indian Ocean transect for the US Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography program, which contributes to both the CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography project and the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project via decadal reoccupations of selected high-priority WOCE Hydrographic Program transects. We follow or improve on the WOCE protocols, with enhanced measurements of ocean carbon parameters in particular, plus a trace metal sampling program. In this case we will repeat WOCE line I8S during our first leg and line I9N during the second leg. Sampling and analytical work for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, a host of carbon-related parameters, CFCs, helium, tritium, radiocarbon, trace metals, and velocity will be carried out from surface-to-bottom at ca. 50 km intervals along ca. 95 °E from Antarctica to Bangladesh. We also run a number of underway sampling systems and will deploy 14 Argo floats.

Our 36-person science team has been working well with Roger Revelle’s 21 officers and crew from the first moment we set foot on the ship. In fact, we enjoyed an exceptionally harmonious and successful foreign port load period. We loaded three lab vans, cargo from three other containers, plus numerous other shipments. SIO Shipboard Technical Support gets special kudos for providing four Resident Technicians to assist during this load - all of whom were friendly and helpful, not to mention very busy. Chief Engineer Paul Mauricio and his team cheerfully set to work fixing the trace metal winch, which had been damaged in shipping. But singling out some is not meant to ignore others - this was a group effort, and a pleasant one, all the way.

Dunedin helped the good attitudes along, being a well-situated city of friendly, helpful people. The food and drink at the local establishments was first class, too, though we were not hurting for food on the Revelle, not with SIO’s superb cooks Dax and Paul at work. In-port fare on board is typically pretty basic, but not during this port stop. It is clear to all hands that between Dax and Paul, and the mountains of food we loaded, willpower and the exercise room are both going to be seriously needed this cruise!

We are now steaming nearly two-weeks to our first station, located in one of the most remote reaches of the World Ocean, and as close to Antarctica as ice, weather, and Captain Murline will permit. He is now speeding us southwest across the notorious 40s and 50s, planning to make most of our westward progress near 60 °S, thus hopefully south of the strongest headwinds, swell, and opposing currents. Meanwhile we continue to prepare our equipment, with the first test casts of the bio-optical sensor and the trace metal rosette set for later today. All hands are well and in excellent spirits.

James H. Swift, Chief Scientist