Cruise Report #07: RV Knorr Cruise KN200-4, 13 Apr-03 May 2011. RAPID Mooring Cruise.

Abstract

This report describes the mooring operations conducted during RV Knorr cruise KN200-4 between 13 April and 3 May 2011. These mooring operations were completed as part of the United Kingdom Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded RAPID-WATCH Programme to monitor the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) at 26.5°N. The primary purpose on this cruise for the UK team was to service the RAPID Western Boundary moorings while the US teams worked on the Western Boundary Time Series project and the RAPID-MOCHA Western Boundary moorings. Cruise KN200-4 was from Port Everglades, Florida to Port Everglades, Florida and covered the Western Boundary moorings deployed on RB0901 and OC459. This cruise was the ninth annual refurbishment of the Western Boundary section of an array of moorings deployed across the Atlantic in order to continuously observe the MOC. This array will be further refined and refurbished during subsequent years. The instruments deployed on the array consist of a variety of current meters, bottom pressure recorders, and CTD loggers, which, combined with time series measurements of the Florida Straits Current and wind stress estimates, will be used to determine the strength and structure of the MOC at 26.5°N. (http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/rapid)