Deployment: KN193-06

GEOTRACES intercalibration cruise 1 (June 2008)

Original cruise data are available from the NSF R2R data catalog

GEOTRACES completed the first Intercalibration cruise from June 8 to July 12, 2008, collecting water and particle samples for analysis and intercalibration.  This intercalibration exercise aimed to provide reference materials that could be distributed to the international community and reference profiles of Trace Elements and their Isotopes to ensure compatibility and consistency of GEOTRACES data.

The exercise involved a two leg cruise with the first (KN193-5) focusing on the collection of seawater reference material and the second (KN193-6) on particles. The R/V Knorr departed Norfolk, Virginia USA and transected to the BATS station southeast of Bermuda where the bulk of sampling took place. Scientific crew change for the second leg of the cruise was in Bermuda on June 27 and particle sampling began at BATS with underway sampling during the return leg to Norfolk, arriving on July 12.

The research performed on this cruise was designed to support the three primary objectives of the U.S. GEOTRACES Intercalibration effort: (1) Develop and test the US GEOTRACES sampling systems and procedures for dissolved and particulate TEIs. Results will comprise a community resource for use in all future US GEOTRACES' cruises; (2) Using these systems, conduct a thorough intercalibration for all the key GEOTRACES TEIs, and as many others as possible, in the dissolved and particulate phases through the participation of the worldwide TEI community; (3) Establish a GEOTRACES Baseline Station in the western North Atlantic, specifically at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Station, as part of the Intercalibration Cruise. This research is a collaborative effort among 3 Principal Investigators (Cutter, Old Dominion U.; Bruland, U. of California, Santa Cruz; R. Sherrell, Rutgers U.), but participation in the intercalibration component of GEOTRACES is  international and will involve at least 80 other laboratories.

If you are interested in participating in this exercise, note that selected samples for intercalibration will also be available after the cruise. For general information about the intercalibration effort please contact Greg Cutter

Sampling Activities:  Intercalibration cruise with CTD's, several water pump systems, and trace metal water collecting

Cruise Participants: (from the pre-cruise letter)

Dr. Gregory Cutter, Chief Scientist, Old Dominion University
Dr. Edward Boyle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Seth John, California Institute of Technology
Dr. Kenneth Bruland, University of California, Santa Cruz
Mr. Matthew Brown, University of California, Santa Cruz
Ms. Sherry Lippiatt, University of California, Santa Cruz
Dr. Maeve Lohan, University of Plymouth, UK
Mr. Geoffrey Smith, University of California, Santa Cruz
Ms. Bettina Sohst, University of California, Santa Cruz
Mr. Juan Santos-Echeandia, Marine Research Institute (IIM-CSIC), Spain
Dr. Jay Cullen, University of Victoria, Canada
Mr. Curtis Barnes, Old Dominion University
Mr. Peter Morton, Old Dominion University
Mr. Brandon Gipson, Old Dominion University
Ms. Carie Lingle, Old Dominion University
Dr. Carl Lamborg, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. William Landing, Florida State University
Ms. Kathleen Gosnell, Florida State University
Dr. Robert Mason, University of Connecticut
Ms. Susan Gichuki, University of Connecticut
Mr. Maxime Grand, University of Hawaii
Dr. Mariko Hatta, University of Hawaii
Dr. Hajime Obata, University of Tokyo
Dr. Robert Sherrell, Rutgers University
Ms. Tali Babila, Rutgers University
Ms. Christine Theodore, Rutgers University
Dr. Silke Severmann, University of California, Riverside
Dr. Kazuhiro Norisue, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Japan
Dr. Jingfeng Wu, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dr. Chundi Li, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology
Dr. Robert Rember, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dr. Ana Aguilar-Islas, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Mr. James Avery, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ms. Amy Simoneau, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution