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Raw CTD data from Port St Johns Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) and Bathymetry Survey on Algoa Voyage 198, May 2013

Raw Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) data from Port St Johns Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) and Bathymetry Survey on Algoa Voyage 198, 8 May - 13 May, 2013. This cruise has two scientific objectives: (1) to investigate the dynamics of the Port St. Johns eddy and biological implications and (2) to investigate the existence of mesoscale eddies in the Agulhas Current. In the case of the former, Oceans & Coasts was asked to provide input to the recent spate of shark attacks off Port St. Johns. Very little is known about the oceanography except that Roberts et al (2010) discovered during a cruise a lee-trapped cyclonic eddy off Port St. Johns that caused substantial slope upwelling. The cold upwelled water is nutrient-rich and appears to provide a biological pump to the local ecosystem. This cruise will deploy an ADCP in a depth of approximately 80 m to determine the frequency of appearance of this eddy coupled with Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) lines to measure the biological implications. In the case of the second objective - offshore mesoscale eddies interact strongly with the Agulhas Current, and have been shown to initiate the Natal Pulse, cause early retroreflections, and influence slope upwelling at Port Alfred. They also act as vectors carrying biological material to areas along their trajectory and therefore play a role in shaping biodiversity patterns. A recent study however using altimetry and VSP drifters indicates that mesoscale eddies from both Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel tend to move down the Agulhas Current on its offshore boundary, but that these eddies dissapate southwest of East London. On this cruise we investigated whether mesoscale eddies exist in the lower region of the Agulhas Current using in situ measurements. The results may have a profound impact on local altimetry processing and our understanding of the regional oceanography.

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Last Updated June 6, 2024, 13:35 (UTC)
Created June 6, 2024, 13:35 (UTC)
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contactInfo 2nd Floor, Foretrust Building, 1 Martin Hammerschlag Way, Cape Town, South Africa
downloadURL https://repository.ocean.gov.za/index.php/s/jzo9p8TBedtdH3D
harvest_object_id f2d57559-1cc4-4980-adfe-d0dae97de8ad
harvest_source_id 53d89a76-20d6-4ee6-acb9-8b1b33058887
harvest_source_title MIMS
individualName Oceans and Coastal Research
organizationName Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
role originator
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[29.86, -31.89], [29.97, -31.89], [29.97, -31.43], [29.86, -31.43], [29.86, -31.89]]]}
xmax 29.97
xmin 29.86
ymax -31.43
ymin -31.89