Marion Island Relief on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 036, April 2019

The 2019 Marion Relief Voyage offered the 7th opportunity to conduct multi-disciplinary, shipbased marine research focusing on links and interactions between air and sea, ocean physics, chemistry, biogeochemistry and biology, including microbial, planktic and benthic communities on board South Africa’s polar research and supply vessel MV SA Agulhas II en route to, and around, the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward archipelago. The overall aim was to continue contributing to an oceanographic observation and monitoring system directed by South African research institutions in support of South Africa’s needs – and where possible, in support of global requirements of inter alia the Global Oceans Observing System (GOOS), the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP). With the declaration on 9 April 2013 of the Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) as South Africa’s first offshore Marine Protected Area (MPA), the outcomes of this cruise will further contribute toward an integrated view and a better understanding of the functioning of the combined island/marine PEI ecosystem.

2019年马里恩救援航行提供了第七次机会，以进行多学科、基于船舶的海洋研究，重点关注空气与海洋之间的联系与相互作用，包括海洋物理学、化学、生物地球化学和生物学，以及微生物、浮游生物和底栖生物群落。这些研究在南非极地研究与供应船MV SA Agulhas II上展开，该船在前往并环绕南半球亚南极的爱德华王子群岛的过程中进行。总体目标是为南非研究机构主导的海洋观测与监控系统做出持续贡献，以满足南非的需求，并在可能的情况下，支持包括全球海洋观测系统（GOOS）、南大洋观测系统（SOOS）、《南极海洋生物资源养护公约》（CCAMLR）以及《关于养护信天翁和海燕的协定》（ACAP）在内的全球需求。随着2013年4月9日爱德华王子群岛（PEIs）被宣布为南非首个海上海洋保护区（MPA），此次航行的成果将进一步促进对综合视角和PEI岛屿/海洋生态系统的功能有更深入的理解。