Information
Comments
The weather and sea conditions have continued to improve as we sail north under a ridge of high pressure. We are back into the by now very routine business of CTD stations interspersed with the occasional XBT test and casts dedicated to the biology team. We are presently at station 52, of a total of 68, so we are getting there and are now north of Hobart. It may seem unusual to be doing oceanographic work at these latitudes on an icebreaker, but it is important that the whole transect from the sea ice zone to the Australian coast be completed at one time (i.e., over a few weeks). One of the main goals of the voyage is to use a variety of the measurements we are making to calculate the transport of water, heat and other properties being carried by the circumpolar current. To do this accurately, we need to make the measurements at the same time. The strong flow of the circumpolar current provides the primary connection between the ocean basins and has a large influence on the climate and the global network of ocean currents. The various measurements being made on this voyage (CTD profiles of temperature and salinity; water samples analysed for nutrients; velocity measured by acoustic instruments in the hull and on the CTD; the drift of Argo floats; and the current meters we recovered) will be combined to make the most accurate estimates yet of the transport of this important current system.
Regards, Steve and Barbara
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.