Agulhas Bank Boundary Processes on the Africana Voyage 099, January 1992

The Agulhas Bank Boundary Processes was conducted on the Africana Voyage 099, from 07-28 January 1992. The objectives of the cruise were to study the entrainment/loss of biota (fish eggs, larvae and plankton) along the shelf and shelf-edge by currents. This was undertaken by means of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP; current) measurements, and regular collection of biota with a combined bongo/calVET net with u³; to estimate the flux of the Agulhas Current along two lines by means of Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) and Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) sections, and ADCP measurements; identification of pulses in the Agulhas Current by means of remote sensing (on board) and possible additional CTD/XBT lines to those shown in the grid map. Also a similar study of major filaments on the West Coast; to contribute to studies on the Agulhas Current influence on the South East coast shelf regions, in particular a) the Algoa Bay ecosystem, and b) the St Francis Bay ecosystem (especially the squid fishery), and c) the Eastern Agulhas Bank, South of Mossel Bay; to do a detailed study of the trophic functioning of the planktonic food-web over the entire region, by means of analysis of plankton net tows, on-board incubations, and the use of the Magnum Rosette with fluorometer; estimation of the biomass density and distribution pelagic and mesopelagic fish over the whole region, but particularly above the shelf-edge by means of acoustics and mid-water trawling; two deep midwater trawls on the South West edge of the Agulhas Bank in approximately 1000m of water to investigate species occurrence; and the retrieval of a current meter array off the Tsitsikamma coast at 34°01.35'S; 23° 43.80 'E in 40m of water.