Deployment: MV1008

Research on the cruise was aimed at acquiring a better understanding of plankton dynamics, carbon and nutrient fluxes, and potential trace element limitation in the Costa Rica Dome region of the eastern tropical Pacific. The specific science objectives were:
1) to assess grazing and trace metal/nutrient controls on primary production and phytoplankton standing stocks;
2) to quantify carbon and elemental fluxes and export rates from the euphotic zone; and
3) to measure microbial population, processes, stable isotope abundances associated with the OMZ and nitrite maxima.

Operations included: 4-day sediment trap deployments, daily process experiments conducted on satellite-tracked drifters, CTD and trace-metal rosette sampling, shipboard grow-out experiments, net sampling for zooplankton biomass and grazing assessments, and MOCNESS stratified tows to 1000 m.

BCO-DMO Note:
March 2013 (CLC): The original CTD profile data (85 casts) have been submitted by R2R to NODC.  Jim Moffett (USC) was a participant on this cruise and is interested in getting a copy of the full set of CTD cast data (deep and shallow casts). He plans to contact SIO ODF group or Mike Landry (Chief Scientist).

Original cruise data are available from the NSF R2R data catalog.