2026 GO-SHIP A16S
Reoccupying the South Atlantic A16S Hydrographic Section
A full-depth survey of 115 historic South Atlantic stations, deploying GO-BGC and Argo floats while collecting chemical, physical, and biological data to advance global Ocean climate research.
The U.S. Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (U.S. GO-SHIP) is part of the international GO-SHIP program, which carries out a systematic and global re-occupation of select hydrographic sections. The A16S line
The specific goals of this cruise are as follows:
- Re-occupation of the historic stations in this line. Roughly 115 stations, sampling water from a CTD rosette from near the surface to just off the seafloor
- A second cast dedicated to biological measurements at select stations throughout the line
- Deployment of 14 GO-BGC biogeochemical floats that measure properties like chlorophyll, nitrate, and oxygen in addition to temperature and salinity
- Deployment of 20 additional floats, including 12 core Argo, 4 deep Argo, and 2 PMEL deep floats.
Stations are spaced at 30 nautical miles (closer at boundaries and over bathymetric features), with one deployment per station of a CTDO/rosette system with 36 10-liter bottles and LADCP. The ship’s standard underway systems (including meteorology, surface seawater T/S/O2/pCO2/etc., centerline depth to bottom, navigation, hull-mounted ADCP, etc.) are also used. Program water column measurements include CTDO, salinity, oxygen, nutrients, CFCs, ocean carbon parameters, and various tracers.
Please join along on the journey by following the expedition blog!
Dates: March 8 – April 23, 2026
Ports: Punta Arenas, Chile to Porto Grande, Cape Verde
Chief Scientist: Leticia Barbero (NOAA)
Co-Chief Scientist: Colette Kelly (WHOI)
Ship: R/V Roger Revelle (Scripps)
2026 GO-SHIP A16S Atlantic Expedition Logs
Underway Sampling
When Southern Ocean conditions halt CTD operations, the underway seawater system keeps Bio-GO-SHIP science moving04/02/2026 Research cruises are meticulously organized, drawing on centuries of collective experience, yet they remain subject to countless variables that...
Magnificent Seven
Details on the deployment of the first seven Argo floats deployed on “leg 1” of A16S.03/30/2026 Hello from the South Atlantic/Southern Ocean (depending on what definition of the boundaries of the Southern Ocean you use)! My name is Zack Nachod, and I am a PhD...
Racing Austral Winter
How the GO-SHIP A16S Cruise Adapted Its Southern Ocean Sampling Strategy03/26/2026 On Wednesday March 25th, the R/V Roger Revelle began its second journey eastward through the Strait of Magellan, and we are back underway towards our scientific sampling track through...
No Bubbles
Aboard the R/V Roger Revelle, a team of scientists brave the roaring 40s to capture a snapshot of our oceans — one bubble-free sample at a time.03/07/2026 The team and the R/V Roger Revelle have arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile. The anticipation and excitement for...