South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line cruise on the Algoa Voyage 285, September 2022

The South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line in the South-East Atlantic Ocean was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 285 from 27 September to 07 October 2022. The cruise operated from Slangkop, off Cape Town, westwards to 11° E, in the South Atlantic Ocean along the SAMBA transect and south of Hondeklipbaai on the West coast. 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 3 x tall moorings on the SAMBA transect (M8; M9 & M10), incorporating ADCP’s and Sea-Bird Microcats; complete 21 Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) casts to a maximum depth of ~1200m (using Hydro winch) along the SAMBA transect; recover; service and re-deploy 1 TRAFFIC sediment trap mooring (SBUS East-03), south of Hondeklipbaai; 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.