Where in the world are Tom and Cyril? And, what are they doing?

Tom Bell and Cyril McCormick are currently crossing the North Atlantic, Ocean on the Research Vessel (R/V) Knorr. R/VKnorr has logged more than one million miles in the name of science – one of only two ships in the current U.S. Navy fleet to travel that far. Best known as the ship that supported a team of researchers in 1985 as they discovered the wreck of the RMSTitanic, the Knorr has been deployed from Woods Hole, MA, USA to conduct a study of air/sea gas exchange. Where is theKnorr now? Click here to find the vessel.

The cruise is a collaborative study of how gases are exchanged between the atmosphere and ocean, an important part of the global climate system. The cruise is part of an NSF funded study by Scott Miller (SUNY-Albany), Eric Saltzman (UCI ESS), and Warren De Bruyn (Chapman University), and includes researchers from several other US universities, Ireland, and Brazil. They will be measuring fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) using the eddy covariance technique, ocean turbulence and whitecapping, and atmospheric aerosols.

This cruise is one in a series of expeditions to study air/sea gas transfer across the world’s oceans. It is specifically focused on gas transfer in waters with very high biological productivity in the North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom. This is one of the few cruises where storms are welcomed by the scientists, as they offer an opportunity to study gas transfer at high wind speeds where whitecaps and bubbles are important.

Cruise Information

Cruise Blog – watch for updates from Sea!

http://bloomcruise.blogspot.com
Check out Tom’s post on Bloom Hunting