Tropical Atlantic Observations for Climate and Weather

Cruises

2021 PNE Cruise

    The 2021 PNE cruise took place from January 15 to February 24 on the R/V Ronald H. Brown, beginning in Miami Beach, Florida and ending in Key West, Florida. The chief scientist of PNE 2021 was Greg Foltz (NOAA/AOML). During the cruise, all four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were recovered and redeployed, a new mooring was deployed at the 15N, 38W Brazilian PIRATA site (the previous buoy had become unmoored and was adrift), and the air temperature and relative humidity sensors were replaced on the French PIRATA mooring at 0, 23W. 61 CTD casts were conducted, most along 23W. 12 Argo floats were deployed. AEROSE measured aerosol optical depth and atmospheric carbon monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide throughout the cruise. A group from Fearless Fund (Dept. of Energy/NOAA-funded project) collected samples of Sargassum and obtained more than 300 water samples from the CTD bottles for post-cruise nutrient analysis.

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2019 PNE Cruise

    PNE2019 began on March 1, 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina on the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown, and ended early on March 29, 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina. Renellys Perez (NOAA/AOML) was the chief scientist. Science conducted during PNE2019 was greatly curtailed due to a reduction of almost two weeks at sea due to a series of delays/issues. Three moorings were serviced (20N, 38W; 20.5N, 23W; and 11.5N, 23W). The final mooring (4N, 23W) was serviced in May 2019 aboard the UNOLS R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Only 12 CTD casts were conducted due to limited time, and 14 surface drifters for NOAA’s Global Drifter program and 22 profiling floats for the Argo program were also deployed in areas with limited data coverage. AEROSE deployed 101 radiosondes and 8 ozonesondes during the cruise. Sargassum sightings were recorded by student volunteers.

2018 PNE Cruise

    The 2018 PNE cruise was conducted from March 7 to April 14 on the R/V Ronald H. Brown, beginning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ending in Durban, South Africa. The chief scientist of PNE 2018 was Greg Foltz (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, three of the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced (the mooring at 20.5N, 23W was not replaced due to high winds and rough seas), and the rain and radiation sensors were replaced on the French PIRATA mooring at 0, 23W. 50 CTD casts were conducted, most of them along 23W. 12 Argo floats and 10 surface drifters were deployed. 55 experimental surface drifters were deployed as part of an experiment to study the pathways of Sargassum in the tropical North Atlantic.

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2017 PNE Cruise

    The 2017 PIRATA Northeast Extension (PNE) cruise was conducted from February 19 to March 25, 2017, from Montevideo, Uruguay to Charleston, S.C., aboard the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown. The chief scientist of PNE2017 was Renellys C. Perez (NOAA/AOML). During the 35-day cruise from Montevideo, Uruguay to Charleston, S.C., 61 CTD/O2/LADCP casts were conducted and four PNE moorings were successfully recovered and redeployed. The PNE team also deployed 16 drifters, 8 Argo floats, and 70+ XBTs. The TFLEX mooring at 4N, 23W was augmented with an additional 10 acoustic current meters to study upper ocean velocity and shear (lead PI Renellys Perez). The AEROSE team collected a wide variety of atmospheric observations during the “leg 1” transit from Punta Arenas, Chile to Montevideo, Uruguay (Chief Scientist: Vernon Morris). They also collected atmospheric observations during the “leg 2” PNE cruise from Montevideo to Charleston, S.C.

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2015 PNE Cruise

    The 2015 PNE cruise was conducted from November 15 to December 14, 2015 aboard the NATO R/V Alliance. The port of call was Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The chief scientist was Claudia Schmid (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced and a mooring that was part of the T-FLEX validation was recovered near the PNE mooring site at 4N, 23W with 10 point acoustic current meters to study upper ocean shear (lead PI Renellys Perez). Dust was sampled from the shortwave radiometers at locations prone to dust accumulation, including at the 11.5N, 23W site which had a second shortwave radiometer with a washing system. 41 CTD/O2/LADCP stations were conducted, most of them along 23W. Two experiments targeted at improving the quality of XBT data were done: (1) 48 enhanced Deep Blue XBTs were deployed as part of a joint project with Sippican; (2) 60 pairs of XBTs were dropped simultaneously from different heights as part of the fall height experiment. The AEROSE team collected a wide variety of atmospheric observations.

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2014 PNE Cruise

    The 2014 PNE cruise was conducted from 28 December 2014 to 12 February 2015, Bridgetown, Barbados to San Juan, Puerto Rico, aboard the UNOLS R/V Endeavor. The chief scientist of PNE 2014 was Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced and a T-FLEX mooring was deployed within five miles of the PNE mooring at 4N-23W with 10 point acoustic current meters to study upper ocean shear (lead PI Renellys Perez). An experimental washer system was installed at the 11.5N-23W site to clean dust off a second shortwave radiometer. 51 CTD stations were conducted, most of them along 23W. Five subsurface hydrophone moorings deployed in an NSF-funded project were also recovered. Due to ship space constraints, the AEROSE team was not able to participate in this cruise.

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2013 (2013b) PNE Cruise

    The (late) 2013 PNE cruise was the second conducted in the year 2013 due to the delay of the 2012 cruise (see below), and is thus "PNE2013b". This cruise was conducted on November 11 to December 8, from Bridgetown, Barbados to Recife, Brazil, on the R/V Ronald H. Brown. The chief scientist of PNE 2013b was Greg Foltz (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced and a T-FLEX mooring was deployed within five miles of the PNE mooring at 20N-38W. 69 CTD stations were conducted, most of them along 23W. 96 XBTs were dropped, some as part of an XBT comparison experiment. The AEROSE team collected a wide variety of atmospheric observations.

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2012 (2013a) PNE Cruise

    The 2012 PNE cruise was initially canceled due to mechanical failures of the R/V Ronald H. Brown, and subsequently scheduled for early 2013. It was conducted on January 8 to February 13, from Charleston, SC to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Because the next PIRATA Northeast Extension cruise is scheduled for late 2013, this cruise is "PNE 2013a" while the late 2013 cruise is "PNE 2013b". The chief scientist of PNE 2013a was Claudia Schmid (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced, a T-FLEX mooring was deployed within five miles of the PNE mooring at 20N-38W, and the backbone mooring at Eq-23W was repaired. 50 CTD stations were conducted, most of them along 23W and at the PIRATA mooring sites. 120 Underway CTD casts were performed to test the system and collect data along 23W and during the transit to Puerto Rico. Along the same sections, 265 XBTs were dropped. In addition, 6 XBT comparison tests were done with up to 10 pairs of XBTs at each location close to a CTD cast. The AEROSE team collected a wide variety of atmospheric observations. In addition, two hydrophone moorings were recovered and redeployed, and one hydrophone mooring was deployed.

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2011 PNE Cruise

    The 2011 PNE cruise was conducted aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown on July 21 to August 21, from Charleston, SC, USA to Cape Town, South Africa. The chief scientist was Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced, a T-FLEX mooring was deployed within five miles of the PNE mooring at 20N-38W, and the backbone moorings at Eq-23W and 10S-10W were repaired. Six hydrographic casts were conducted, one at each of the PIRATA mooring sites visited during the cruise.

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2010 PNE Cruise

    The 2010 PNE cruise was conducted aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown on April 26 to May 22, from Takoradi, Ghana to Charleston, SC, USA. The chief scientist was Claudia Schmid (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced, the backbone mooring at Eq-23W was repaired via tube swap, and the backbone mooring at 0N0E (which had gone adrift) was recovered. A hydrographic line along 23W was occupied from the Equator to 20.5N.

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2009 PNE Cruise

    The 2009 PNE cruise was conducted aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown on July 11 to August 11, from Bridgetown, Barbados to Key West, FL USA. The chief scientist was Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the four PIRATA Northeast Extension buoys were serviced, and the backbone mooring at Eq-23W was repaired. A hydrographic line along 23W was occupied from 4N to 20.5N.

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2008 PNE Cruise

    The 2008 PNE cruise was conducted aboard the R/V Antea, a French vessel that was chartered by NOAA after the originally scheduled, April 2008 cruise on the R/V Ron Brown had been canceled due to mechanical issues. The Ron Brown cruise had been scheduled to include a repeat hydrographic section along 23W, but ship time costs prohibited this work from being done on the Antea. The replacement cruise was focused entirely on replacing the four PNE moorings and the backbone mooring at 0, 23W, with CTD sections at these five sites. The cruise was conducted in two legs to accommodate the limited endurance of the Antea. Leg 1 began on October 5th out of Dakar, Senegal and lasted 13 days, until the Antea's return to Dakar on October 18. Leg 2 began on October 21 and ended on November 5, also in and out of Dakar, Senegal. The chief scientist was David Zimmerman (NOAA/PMEL).

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2007 PNE Cruise

    The 2007 PNE cruise was conducted aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown on May 2-29, from Bridgetown, Barbados to Ft. Lauderdale, FL USA. The chief scientist was Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML). During this cruise, the moorings at 4N, 23W and 11.5N, 23W were serviced, and longwave and barometric pressure measurements were added to the 11.5N buoy. New buoys were deployed at 20.5N, 23W and at 20N, 38W, completing the originally envisioned PNE array. A hydrographic line along 23W was occupied from 4N to 20.5N.

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2006 PNE Cruise

    The 2006 PNE cruise was the first cruise of this project. It was conducted aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown in two legs. Leg one was May 27-June 18, from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Recife, Brazil, chief scientist Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML). During this leg, the first two PNE moorings were deployed at 4N, 23W and 11.5N, 23W and the sites of future deployments were surveyed. The PIRATA backbone mooring on the equator, 23W was also serviced, and a hydrographic line was conducted from 20.5N to 5S, 23W. Leg two was June 22-July 16, from Recife, Brazil to Charleston, SC USA, chief scientists Claudia Schmid (NOAA/AOML) and Vernon Morris (Howard University). During this leg, the hydrographic line was repeated from 5S to the Cape Verde plateau.

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