Dates: June 2016

Clients/Referring: University of Alaska Fairbanks, North Pacific Research Board, National Science Foundation, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, Alaska Ocean Observing System

Description:  According to the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the purpose of the Seward Line cruise “is to develop an understanding of the response of this marine ecosystem to climate variability. Toward this end, the Seward Line cruises on the Gulf of Alaska shelf determine the physical and chemical oceanographic structure, the primary production and the distribution and abundance of zooplankton. We then examine the seasonal and inter-annual variations in these measurements. At present, cruises are conducted each spring (May) and late summer (early September).”

The cruise required the repeated deployment of a 900-lb “CTD” sampling device to measure salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and a host of other factors at depths of up to 1000 meters. Night crews towed a “bongo trawl” for sampling zooplankton, resulting in 24-hour operations throughout the cruise.