CE14006 NUI Galway Transatlantic Cruise Survey

The transatlantic crossing has been carried out since 2011 gathering fisheries acoustic data, underway temperature profiles and carrying out a number of fishing sets for ground truthing of the acoustics dataset. The Transatlantic Added Value cruise in April 2014, led by Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and National University of Ireland Galway, took place on board the Marine Institute's R.V. Celtic Explorer and aimed to add to the pre-existing data sets and to included and develop other scientific areas during the transit. During the survey CTD profiles were conducted, phytoplankton sampling was carried out, surface plastics collected using a manta net and XBT Temperature Profiles taken every 30NM. The M6 weather buoy was deployed after coming adrift during winter storms. A visual survey for seabirds was also carried out. Extensive sampling around the eddy region did not take place due to bad weather. The objectives for the 2014 transatlantic added value cruise were as follows 1. To investigate the formation and structure of fronts and mesoscale eddies. 2. To link oceanographic processes to biological processes across the Atlantic. 3. To investigate what are the main planktonic prey of the larvae of mesopelagic oceanic fish. 4. To obtain cephalopod paralarvae in support of taxonomic and ecological studies. 5. To collect samples of large zooplankton >20mm for use in stable isotope analysis with respect to seabird diet 7. To study the distribution of seabirds along the transatlantic transect and their relationship with oceanographic features and zooplankton. 8. To investigate the distribution of picoplankton across a transect in the North Atlantic. 9. To conduct microplastic sampling throughout the cruise to understand the distribution and abundance of microplastics, especially with respect to oceanographic fronts and mesoscale eddies.