Project: U.S. JGOFS Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study

The U.S. Southern Ocean JGOFS program, called Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study (AESOPS), began in August 1996 and continued through March 1998. The U.S. JGOFS AESOPS program focused on two regions in the Southern Ocean: an east/west section of the Ross-Sea continental shelf along 76.5°S, and a second north/south section of the Southern Ocean spanning the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at ~170°W (identified as the Polar Front). The science program, coordinated by Antarctic Support Associates (ASA), comprised eleven cruises using the R.V.I.B Nathaniel B. Palmer and R/V Roger Revelle as observational platforms and for deployment and recovery of instrumented moorings and sediment-trap arrays. The Ross-Sea region was occupied on six occasions and the Polar Front five times. Mapping data were obtained from SeaSoar, ADCP, and bathymetric systems. Satellite coverage was provided by the NASA SeaWiFS and the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder programs.