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Project

Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT)

The RRS James Clark Ross, a scientific research vessel which has been used for many AMT cruises

Active project


Funder: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) - National Capability
Principal Investigator: Dr Andy Rees
Other participants from PML: Amanda Beesley, Carolyn Harris, Denise Cummings, Dr Darren Clark, Dr Dionysios Raitsos, Dr Francesco Nencioli, Dr Gavin Tilstone, Dr Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Dr Glen Tarran, Dr Ming-Xi Yang, Dr Ruth Airs, Dr Tim Smyth, Dr Vassilis Kitidis, Dr Victor Martinez-Vicente, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, Ian Brown, John Stephens
Website: http://www.amt-uk.org

The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) multidisciplinary programme, which undertakes biological, chemical and physical oceanographic research during an annual voyage between the UK and destinations in the South Atlantic.

Established in 1995, the programme is a well respected and established scientific research programme which enables scientists to make open ocean observations through a wide latitudinal range, including the rarely sampled north and south Atlantic gyres. The AMT cruise programme is unique and facilitates a greater understanding of the ocean and the biogeochemistry within it.

Impact

AMT assists scientists in the identification of long-term trends and forecasting of future outcomes. The resulting data is not only valuable to scientific understanding, but also addresses wider societal concerns such as sustainability, climate change and marine ecosystems. AMT research contributes to science and policy development including the social and economic understanding of the marine environment and services it delivers.

The AMT cruises have hosted over 220 scientists (from more than 60 research institutes in 18 countries), produced over 300 significant scientific papers and contributed to more than 75 PhD studies. It serves as an ideal platform for national and international scientific collaboration, a training arena for the next generation of oceanographers and an ideal facility for validation of novel technology.

The AMT programme is co-ordinated and led by PML, with our scientists on board the research voyage every year, pioneering investigations into how the Atlantic Ocean is changing.