SACO10W-14S
Maintaining the PIES of the SAGA array, deploying another one at 14.5ºS and carrying out a hydrographic cruise at 10W and 14S.
SACO10W-14S will be a cruise dedicated to maintain the PIES of the SAGA array, deploy another one at 14.5ºS and to carry out a hydrographic cruise at 10W and 11S. Initially, the SAGA array, which consisted of 3 moorings and 4 PIES, was deployed in April 2021. The instruments in the moorings have autonomy for 2 years, so they were recovered in April 2023 in a programmed cruise with the R/V Hespérides. In contrast, the PIES has an autonomy of up to five years and they will be providing data for another two years. Hence, we plan to maintain them in April 2025 with the SACO10W-14S cruise. In addition, this 2025 cruise will carry out a full hydrographic section at 10ºW and 11ºS. It will sample the water masses in the middle of the subtropical South Atlantic region and western boundary where the deep flow separates in the western and eastern components as well as the connections between the South Atlantic subtropical and tropical gyres.
GO-BGC joins this cruise to deploy 6 GO-BGC floats and 5 Core Argo floats. In addition to the water samples for nutrients and dissolved oxygen already planned by the science team, our ship rider will collect pH/alkalinity, POC, and HPLC samples for analysis back in the U.S.
Please join along on the journey by following the expedition blog!
Map showing the planned course for 10W-11S.
SACO10W-14S Expedition Logs
Final Reflection
Looking back on the challenges and lessons learned by being a part of an expedition like this one.In the last week, we deployed two floats. Trident Seekers, adopted by Midland ISD and MIIS Floaty, adopted by MIIS. On the day we deployed Trident Seekers, there was a...
Fourth Float
Our fourth float, adopted by Downingtown East High School and named “Bea’s Betta,” was deployed on May 4thOn May 4th I got the chance to deploy another float. This float adopted by Downingtown East High School and named “Bea’s Betta” was deployed around 9:00 PM on a...
PIES
This week I got to watch as we recovered four of five Pressure Inverted Echosounders (PIES)Every time I go out on a research cruise, I am fascinated by the technology that scientists use to complete their research. This cruise has been no exception. In addition to the...
Watching the Waves
Our third week at sea included two BGC Float deployments, water sampling, a game night, three PIES recoveries, and lots of time out in the sun.As we began the third week being out at sea, we began heading North along 10 W, a line of longitude. This direction change...
Deployment Day
Even with nearly a week at sea and two float deployments down, the novelty of this experience still hasn’t quite worn off.Three days ago, we left the bad weather behind us, and I got to decorate the adopted BGC floats. Three of the other scientists, José, Ion, and...
First day at sea
We have officially been at sea for a whole day. This blog has some information about what I have been up to.We have officially been at sea for a whole day! we left around 9:00 PM on April 9th, and for three days before that, I explored Montevideo, Uruguay with the...
Paige McKay
An introduction to PaigeHi! My name is Paige McKay, and I am currently a second-year undergraduate at the University of Washington School of Oceanography. I work as a lab tech at the UW Argo Float Lab and have been building, testing, and shipping Argo and...