South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line on the Algoa Voyage 291, March 2023

The South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line in the South-East Atlantic Ocean was conducted on the RS Algoa Voyage 291 from 01 March to 09 March 2023. The cruise operated from Slangkop, off Cape Town, westwards to 15° E, in the South Atlantic Ocean along the SAMBA transect. The objectives of the cruise were to deploy two Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings (M3 & M4) along the Integrated Ecosystem Programme (IEP)’s Scarborough Monitoring line to collect current data on the Benguela Jet Current; deploy four tall moorings on the SAMBA transect (M7; M8; M9 & M10), incorporating ADCP’s and Sea-Bird Microcats; complete Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) casts (using the hydrographic winch), before each mooring deployment,for the calibration of the SeaBird microcats mounted on the moorings; collect underway Thermosalinograph (TSG); Surface Photosynthetically Active Radiation (SPAR); Underway PCO2 and Ship-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (S-ADCP) data and provide training to newly employed Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) personnel and interns.