RRS Discovery left Southampton Thursday morning 25th March to start cruise DY130 that included a visit to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP), a Fixed ICOS Ocean Station (UK-FOS-PAP). Here is a short report.
We have a busy schedule (and some weather) ahead of us. We plan to be at the in a few days to continue the deep ocean sampling (4850m), that dates back to 1985. We make autonomous measurements of seasonal variations in carbon from the surface ocean to the deep-sea floor. We have a range of equipment to deploy, including the UK Met Office buoy (just visible on deck in this photo). This will be attached to a mooring at the PAP-SO along with various sensors and samplers. As an ICOS FOS we are measuring CO2 in the surface ocean, and atmosphere. Data from the moorings, along with three underwater gliders, will allow us to continue monitoring the area even after RRS Discovery returned to Southampton on 14th April.
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PAP website: https://projects.noc.ac.uk/pap/