South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line on the Algoa Voyage 253, October 2018

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 253 from 01 October to 18 October 2018. 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 recover an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) mooring (M4) along the Integrated Ecosystem Programme (IEP)’s Scarborough Monitoring line to collect current data on the Benguela Jet Current; recover three tall moorings on the SAMBA transect (M8; M9 & M10), incorporating ADCP’s and Sea-Bird Microcats; complete 20 Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) full depth casts (using the containerised winch) along the SAMBA transect; undertake Chlorophyll and Oxygen sampling at CTD stations and underway along SAMBA transect; collect underway Thermosalinograph (TSG); Surface Photosynthetically Active Radiation (SPAR) 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.