AMT 29 Cruise Report

The Atlantic Meridional Transect programme

The overall aim of the Atlantic Meridional Transect programme is to quantify key biogeochemical and ecosystem processes and their inherent variability over extended temporal and spatial scales in the Atlantic Ocean. This is achieved by executing an annually repeated meridional transect through contrasting oceanic provinces, ranging from oligotrophic deep blue waters, to highly productive shelf seas. The AMT is funded as part of the Natural Environmental Research Council’s National Capability.

​Some of the AMT29 highlights include:

• 55 CTD profiles measuring key physical and biogeochemical parameters including: temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, oxygen, nutrients, pH, alkalinity, plankton abundance, respiration, genetics and microbial dynamics. Daily sampling down to 2000 m in an attempt to resolve the Antarctic Intermediate Waters (AAIW). AAIW is an important water mass is thought to sustain primary production in a large fraction of the ocean. Sampling included measurements of oxygen, nutrients, pH, DIC/TA, REEs, PFAAs, Cr isotopes, flow cytometry and tintinnids.
• Continuous underway temperature, bio-optical and biogeochemical measurements covering an almost 100° range in latitude and vastly contrasting ocean biomes.
• Vertical net hauls to determine the abundance of different species of zooplankton and larger phytoplankton.
• Optics rig deployments to measure optical properties of the upper 500 m of the water column.

You can read about the other highlights of the cruise in the downloadable report below: