Cruise Report JR 179 RRS James Clark Ross February to April 2008 Marine biological and marine geological and geophysical studies in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas This unpublished report contains initial observations and conclusions. It is not to be cited without permission of the director, British Antarctic Survey. 2 Page 1 Summary 6 2 List of Personnel 7 3 Timetable of Events 9 4 Introduction 12 5 Project Reports 14 5.1 QWAD 14 5.1.1 EM120 Swath Bathymetry and TOPAS Investigations 14 5.1.2 Coring 25 5.1.3 Landing on unnamed island 29 5.1.4 Physical Oceanography 33 5.1.5 Nd Water Sampling 34 5.2 PEP 35 5.2.1 Cruise Objectives 35 5.2.2 Coring 36 5.2.3 Water sampling 38 5.3 BIOPEARL 43 5.3.1 AGT 43 5.3.1.1 Octopus studies 48 5.3.1.2 Polychaets studies 51 5.3.2 EBS 54 5.3.2.1 Isopods studies 59 5.3.2.2 Polychaets studies 62 5.3.3 META genomic CTDs 64 5.3.4 Microbial CTDs 66 5.3.5 Genetics 69 5.3.6 EK60 acoustics & krill genetics 71 5.3.7 CAML education & outreach 74 5.3.8 ACES deployment 75 6 List of Scientific Equipment Used 77 7 Equipment Performance 79 7.1 EM120 Multibeam Echo Sounder 79 7.2 TOPAS Sub-Bottom Profiler 81 7.3 EA600 Echo Sounder 84 7.4 EK60 Echo Sounder 84 7.5 Piston Corer 85 7.6 Box Corer 89 7.7 Agassz Trawl 91 7.8 Epibenthic Sledge 92 7.9 Cable Logging and Monitoring (CLAM) System 92 7.10 Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) System 93 7.11 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler 100 7.12 Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) System 104 7.13 Oceanlogger 104 7.14 Magnetometers 105 7.15 Navigation Systems 106 3 7.16 NOAA Shipboard Computing System 106 8 ICT and AME Reports 108 9 Acknowledgements 122 10 Acronyms 123 12 Recommendations 124 Appendices 126 A Bridge Event Log 126 B AGT Event Log 149 C EBS Event Log 154 D Typical EM120 and Topas Parameter Settings 159 E ADCP 161 F Core station table 164 G Smear Slide List List of Figures: 1 Cruise track JR179 6 2 Group photo JR179 8 3 TOPAS profile offshore Alexander Island 21 4 Example of EM120 data in the Pine Island Bay area 22 5 TOPAS profile along Amundsen Sea continental slope to highlight beam steering 22 6 TOPAS profile along Amundsen Sea continental slope showing small debris flow 23 7 EM120 data showing turbidite channel in Amundsen Sea 24 8 Photo of guano sampling site A on un-named island 31 9 Photographs illustrating guano sample site B on un-named island 32 10 Photographs illustrating raised beaches on un-named island 32 11 TOPAS profile showing anomalous structures on Amundsen Sea rise 37 12 Water filter manifold 39 13 Biostations 44 14 Overall numbers and wet masses of AGT trawls 47 15 sample of the Pareledone sp. captured 49 16 Megaleledone setebos, captured from Pine Island Bay 49 17 Benthoctopus sp, captured from Pine Island Bay 50 18 Cirroctupus c.f. glaualis captured from Pine Island Bay 50 19 Live photographs of Polychaetes collected from AGT samples 53 20 EBS sampling 56 21 Animal size clases sampled during JR179 with EBS 57 22 Examples of isopods 60 23 Live photographs of polychaets collected from EBS samples 63 24 TFF Filter membrane 65 25 Sample handling 65 26 Sea water processing 66 27 ACES mooring diagram 76 28 Topas noise figure 83 29 Piston corer deployment 88 30 Box core BC488 surface photograph 90 31 Box core BC497 surface photograph 91 4 List of Tables: 1. SVPs 16 2. EM120 surveys 17 3. Island samples 30 4. PEP Box core –sub cores 38 5. Filtered water samples 40 6. AGT Phylla distribution 45 7. Octopus caught during JR179 48 8. Polychaete species list 52 9. Total numbers of phyla, clases, dominant taxa and its proportion found in EBS 58 10. Station data for CTD deployments (Microbiology samples) 67 11. Station data for box core deployments 67 12. EK60 settings 72 13. Krill collected for genetic studies 73 14. CTD table 97 15. CTD water samples 98 16. Table of XBTs 104 5 1. SUMMARY On cruise JR179 a multidisciplinary programme was carried out in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, including benthic marine biological studies and marine geological and geophysical investigations. RRS James Clark Ross became the first UK vessel to reach Pine Island Bay, and also ventured further west the ever before. In view of the large amount of passage required to reach some of the remote study sites it was clear that many days of ship time could be saved by combining different activities into a single multidisciplinary cruise. The different science teams worked well together and some interesting discussions resulted. The data and samples collected on the cruise will provide new insights into the distribution and diversity of benthic marine fauna on the Pacific margin of Antarctica, the stability (or instability) of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the late Quaternary, and variations in palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic conditions in the region during the Holocene. The work carried out on the cruise will contribute to several International Polar Year programmes. Figure1: Cruise track of JR179: 6 2. List of Personel 2.1 Scientific and Technical (24) P. Enderlein BAS Co-chief Scientist R.D. Larter BAS Co-chief Scientist C.-D. Hillenbrand BAS Marine Geologist C.S. Allen BAS Palaeoceanographer J.A. Smith BAS Marine Geologist T.J. Deen BAS Marine Geophysicist A.G.C. Graham BAS Marine Geophysicist B.E. Hull BAS Marine Geophysicist L.G. Collins BAS Micro palaeontologist P.J Carter Bristol University Marine Geochemist B.T.I. Reinardy Swansea University Glacial Sedimentologist H.J. Blagbrough BAS Geological Technician D. Pearce BAS Microbiologist D.K.A. Barnes BAS Marine Biologist H.J. Griffiths BAS Marine Biologist A.G. Glover Natural History Museum Marine Biologist S.S.M. Kaiser University of Hamburg Marine Biologist J.C. Sands BAS Molecular Ecologist J.M. Strugnell University of Cambridge Phylogeneticist (CAML, LTFF) R.E. Malinowska BAS Molecular Biologist J.G.R. Edmonston BAS ICT (Computing Engineer) V. Afanasyev BAS AME (Electronic Engineer) R.A. Phipps NOC Coring Technician R.E. McCabe BASMU Doctor AME = BAS Antarctic & Marine Engineering Section; BAS = British Antarctic Survey; BASMU = BAS Medical Unit; CAML = Census of Antarctic Marine Life; ICT = BAS Information Communications Technology Section; LTFF = Lloyd’s Tercentenary Foundation Fellowship; NOC = National Oceanographic Centre; 2.2 Ship’s Company (28) M.J.S. Burgan Master A.M. Martin Bosun’s Mate T.S. Page Chief Officer M.T. Rowe SG1 J.L. Cox 2nd Officer I. Raper SG1 J.D. Lloyd-Jennings 3rd Officer G.A. Dale SG1 M.E.P. Gloistein ETO comms A.J.J. Estibiero SG1 J.W. Summers Do’sci’ops K.J. Holmes SG2 D.E. Anderson Ch Engineer E. Allen MG1 T.R. Elliot 2nd Engineer J. Coutts MG1 J.S. Stevenson 3rd Engineer A.A. Huntley Chief Cook R.H. Tulloch 4th Engineer J.E. Lee 2nd Cook D.P. Trevett Deck Engineer L.J. Jones Sr Steward A.K. Rowe ETO Engineer N.R. Greenwood Steward R.J. Turner Purser G. Raworth Steward D.J. Peck Bosun M. Weirs Steward 7 Figure 2: Group Photo: 8 3. Timetable of Events February 2008 18 Embarkation of scientific party and crew changeover. 19 Mobilisation. 20 Completing mobilisation. Ship bunkering and taking on stores. Propulsion motor tests continuing. 21 Bunkering avcat. RRS James Clark Ross departs from FIPASS at 1700 local time (2000Z). Final propulsion motor trials in Port William before proceeding south. Turn south off Cape Pembroke at 2230Z. 22 Deploy magnetometer at 1300Z. Crossing Drake Passage, collecting multibeam echo sounding, TOPAS, ADCP and magnetic data continuously. 23 Continuation of Drake Passage crossing, in worsening conditions. Adjust to more westerly heading at lunchtime to reduce rolling, then hove-to at 2130Z 24 Resume Drake Passage crossing at 0845Z as conditions improve. First CTD. 25 Passage along Antarctic Peninsula continental rise, then first piston core. 26 Passage southwards along continental slope, then second piston core. Magnetometer recovered before coring and not redeployed afterwards. 27 Trawling and CTD casts on slope west of Alexander Island. 28 Trawling, CTD casts and gravity coring west of Alexander Island 29 Box core and gravity core west of Alexander Island, then passage westwards along continental slope in Bellingshausen Sea. March 2008 1 Two CTD casts and continuation of passage across Bellingshausen Sea. 2 Passage across Bellingshausen Sea. 3 Passage towards Amundsen Sea continental shelf. 4 Trawling on outer shelf, then box and gravity cores at two sites on passage to Pine Island Bay. 5 Trawling and box core at 1000 m site in Pine Island Bay. 6 XBT cast, trawling, box core and CTD cast at 1500 m site, then swath bathymetry survey of inner Pine Island Bay sill, followed by CTD cast and trawling at 500 m site. 9 7 Trawling and box core at 500 m site, then passage northwards to 1500 m ‘tunnel valley’ site, TOPAS profiling, two gravity cores and a box core. 8 Trawling at 1500 m ‘tunnel valley’ site, swath bathymetry survey to Canisteo Peninsula, boat landings on unnamed island, then return to ‘tunnel valley’ site. 9 Trawling at ‘tunnel valley’ site, then passage northwards to 1000 m site, CTD cast, trawling and box core. 10 Transit westwards to 500 m site, CTD cast, trawling and box core, then passage northwards out of Pine Island Bay.