On August 22, Carbon-FE northwestern Pacific Cruise in summer was successfully implemented onboard R/V TKK. Thirty-six scientists from four domestic research institutions participated in this cruise. Scientists conducted transectional surveys and collected various samples to tackle the scientific questions for ocean-atmosphere interaction, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and trace metals in the northwestern Pacific, an oligotrophic “desert” in the ocean.
All KK2003 cruise participants posed for a group photo
During the 51-day cruise, nearly 400 over-the-side operations were conducted with multi-platform observations and sampling, including deployments of trace-metal-clean (TMC) CTD, in-situ pumps, sediment traps, plankton vertical trawls, optical profilers and BGC-Argo floats.
This was the second international cruise led by Chinese scientists and endorsed as GEOTRACES Process Study, coded as GPpr15.
A letter copy of GEOTRACES Process Study Endorsement from Prof. Andrew Bowie, Co-chairs, GEOTRACES Scientific Steering Committee
Twenty-two stations were investigated during the cruise, including five key TMC stations, ten regular TMC stations, three hydrological stations and four key underway stations. Twenty-nine TMC CTD casts were implemented, with the deepest sampling at 5,796 meters. The underway equipment such as ADCP, SBE 21, MVP300 and automatic weather station (AWS) were intensively utilized with enormous survey data obtained, including 1,120 profiles collected by MVP300 along a survey track of 2,500 nautical miles.
Scientists and technicians were deploying sediment traps
Equipped with the reliable Trace Element and Isotopes Sampling System (TEISS) onboard R/V TKK, four trace element cruises have been successfully accomplished by XMU, including two sea trials and two GEOTRACES-endorsed cruises. Moreover, GEOTRACES-CHINA GP09 wNP Section Study Cruise Report has been available since December 2019 on the GEOTRACES website.
R/V TKK sailed more than 7,000 nautical miles during this cruise, being the longest single cruise since her delivery. The Carbon-FE northwestern Pacific Cruise in winter is now in the pipeline.
