BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

ZEE-2014 Cruise (29HE20140429) carried out on the Research Vessel Hespérides in 2014, During the cruise, which had as main objective the study of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the North of the Iberian Peninsula, 4,983 nautical miles of sounding, verification of anomalies of the magnetic and gravitational field, and probe with penetration capacity in the subsoil have been made , to study the different layers of sediments. The study area covered by the 'Hespérides' has been 58,682 km², which would roughly equal the size of the territory of Castilla-La Mancha. The 2014 ZEE cruise was directed by the Royal Navy Observatory (ROA), with the support of 45 scientists belonging to the Navy Hydrographic Institute (IHM), the Marine Technology Unit (UTM) of the Spanish National Research Council ( CSIC), the Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO), the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), and the universities of Cantabria, Cádiz, Oviedo and Complutense de Madrid

PUMP Cruise (29HE20140831) carried out on the Research Vessel Hespérides in 2014, Study of the Vertical Oceanic Pump in mesoscale eddies (PUMP). This project will study the dynamics/kinematics of the ageostrophic secondary circulation (ASC) and mixing in surface mesoscale anticyclonic eddies and how they modulate plankton activity, plankton community structure, and accumulation and downward transport of organic matter (the Vertical Oceanic Pump, VOP). For this purpose we will conduct a novel interdisciplinary sampling strategy to survey an anticyclonic eddy from a Lagrangian perspective with a resolution down to the submesoscale range using cutting-edge instrumentation and methodologies. We will pay particular attention to the control of the ASC by eddy/wind interaction, by mixing, and by current/wind interaction and frontogenesis/frontolysis at its periphery. ASC will be diagnosed from trajectories of drifters drogued at the Ekman layer and at the eddy´s interior and using an omega-type equation that will include direct measurements of mixing/turbulence. Mixing regime, dynamic stability and vertical diffusion of tracers will be observed and derived from direct measurement of mixing/turbulence. Near-inertial waves trapping and its role in driving shear mixing will be studied from drifter trajectories and from the vertical variability of the horizontal velocity field. To establish the dynamics that forces the VOP we will also develop processes-oriented models and implement regional physical and physical-biogeochemical models for the Canary Region. We will also take advantage of the exceptional source of tracer provided by the El Hierro Island submarine volcanic eruption for the study of eddy submesoscale spatial-temporal variability, combining satellite images and modeling. Finally the physical and biogeochemical observations and processes will be combined and correlated to derive a conceptual model of the dynamics of the marine system linked to the VOP in mesoscale eddies

TRANSPEGASO Cruise (29HE20141020) carried out on the Research Vessel Hespérides in 2014, Study of atmosferic and ocean interchanges.Trans-PEGASO cruise: Take advantage of the transit from Cartagena to Punta Arenas prior to the Antarctic campaign. A small group of researchers will embark together with the instruments already installed for the subsequent PEGASO cruise and, during the southern transit, they will carry out continuous measurements aimed at: (1) setting up the equipment for the PEGASO cruise and solving the problems of operability that may arise; and (2) obtain complementary data to the PEGASO cruise, of great interest because it is a transect across a wide range of latitudes

SUBVENT-2 Cruise (29SG20140310) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, The main scientific objectives of the SUBVENT-2 have been: 1)To survey and study the morphology and geophysical configuration of the mud volcanoes and magmatic volcanoes and identify active cold seeps and hot springs along the continental margins of the Gulf of Cádiz and Canary Islands. 2)To explore, sample and to photography active seabed fluid features. 3)To identify bio-mineralizations (nodules, crusts and chimneys) formed by the action of micro/macro chemosynthetic organisms and mineralization processes. 4) To recognize the role of global change and tectonics in the episodic event of eruption of gas-related mudand enriched-volatile magmatic submarine volcanoes. Technical tasks: The technical tasks carried out during the SUBVENT-2 cruise have been: 1)Multibeam mapping and CHIRP ultra-high resolution profiles on the selected targets. 2) High-resolution seismic profiles with air-gun array and 3-channel streamer. 3)Dives with the ROV LUSO using high-resolution video, methane and CO2 probes, micro-cores, aspiration tubes, rock sampling and niskin bottles. 4)Thermosalinograph (CTD) probes and Niskin bottle rosette sampling. 5) Sampling with 2-5 m gravity core

HOTMIX Cruise (29SG20140427) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, This project will study the influence of mixing zones between water masses on the metabolism and biodiversity of microbial communities, and their impact on biogeochemical fluxes, in the deep ocean. The project will be carried out in the Mediterranean Sea as an example of experimental laboratory for its dynamic characteristics, with turnover times an order of magnitude smaller than in the open ocean (11 to 100 years). We will follow the evolution of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) from its generation, in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea until its flow to the North Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar. During its westward flow the LIW mixes both with surface water of Atlantic origin and deep Mediterranean waters, formed both in the eastern (Adriatic and Aegean Seas) and western (Gulf of Lions) basins. After outflowing through the Gulf of Cadiz, the LIW sinks down and spills over into the eastern Atlantic Ocean, mixing with different Atlantic waters, like the North Atlantic Central Water (NACW), the Subpolar Modal Water (SPMW) and the Labrador Sea Water (LSW). We will reproduce the "in situ" conditions (temperature, pH and hydrostatic pressure) in the deep ocean to study microbial metabolism using advanced methodologies. We will also examine the relationship between diversity, microbial metabolism and the elemental and molecular composition of the available organic matter at these interface regions. Finally, we will compare estimates of metabolic rates with geochemical approaches based on multiparametric analysis of water masses (OMP) and age estimates from transient tracers, helping to resolve the paradox of the imbalance between sources and sinks of carbon in the deep ocean

PLOCAN Cruise (29SG20140601) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, The objective of the cruise is to collaborate in the installation and anchoring of a buoy with superficial meteorological and oceanographic instrumentation in the context of the PLOCAN platform (The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands). It also contains a structure in subsurface waters which brings together another series of sensors to measure physical and biochemical parameters in the water column.The deployment of this anchor will allow to measure atmospheric and oceanographic variables in high resolution (every hour) at sea, which will be transmitted in real time via satellite. Regarding the atmosphere and by means of a meteorological station, barometric pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation and photosynthetically active solar radiation are measured, and oceanographic variables are measured at the sea surface. temperature, conductivity, oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll. In addition, there are two sensors belonging to the Marine Chemistry group of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) to record the data on surface pH and CO2. With respect to the subsurface structure, pressure, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll and currents are measured in a self-contained manner. These observations can be viewed once the funding is recovered. It is estimated that the funding remains one year maximum

MED-SUV Cruise (29SG20140625) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, An active seismic experiment to study the internal structure of Etna Volcano is going to carried out on Sicily and Aeolian islands. The main objective of the experiment is to perform a high resolution seismic tomography, in velocity and attenuation, in the Etnean region, by using active and passive seismic data, in an area encompassing outstanding volcanoes as Mt. Etna, and Aeolian volcanoes. This experiment will start on July 20th, 2014 and the final phase of it will be performed in January-February 2015. The achievement of this objective is based on the integration and sharing of the in-situ marine and land experiments and observations and on the implementation of new instruments and monitoring systems. For the purpose, onshore and offshore seismic stations and passive and active seismic data generated both in marine and terrestrial environment will be used. Additionally, other geophysical data, mainly magnetic and gravimetric data will be considered to obtain a joint Upper Mantle-Crust structure that could permit to make progress in the understanding of the dynamic of the region. This experiment is a collaborative effort of different research projects and relationships among institutions under a common joint project, MED-SUV. Combining refraction and reflexion experiment, around 50.000 shots will be performed that will be recorder on a dense local seismic network consisting of 100 protable seismic stations, 70 permanent seismic stations from INGV, 25 OBSs stations and by a streamer 3 km long with 240 geophones associated to the “Sarmiento de Gamboa” vessel. In total we expect to record more than ten million of P-waves onsets, probably never done before in the world. In the follow figure we show the position of the seismic stations onshore and the OBSs

MODUPLAN Cruise (29SG20140804) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, The scientific objective of this oceanographic cruise: to study the biodiversity of microplanktonic organisms in the deep waters of the North Atlantic and their relationship with global change

FUGRO-3 Cruise (29SG20141029) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2014, Fugro Black Sea Cruise

FORMED-3 Cruise (29GD20140406) carried out on the Research Vessel García del Cid in 2014, Study of the continental shelf and upper slope bottom forms.Specific work:Recovery of the anchored oceanographic material from the previous campaign, sediment sampling and multibeam bathymetry and sediment sampling.The FORMED project proposes to characterize the large scale (> 1 m) bottom forms of the Spanish Mediterranean continental margin from the study of its morphology and the current processes that intervene in its formation and evolution.In parallel, it is proposed the monitoring of hydrodynamic processes and sediment transport in the bottom boundary layer to study wave-current processes potentially associated with dunes in the coastal area (delta del Ebro), internal waves related to "sediment waves" of prodelta (prodelta del Llobregat), internal waves as a potential generator mechanism of "sediment waves" in the continental slope (Gulf of Valencia) and the measurement of deep contornitic currents as a potential mechanism to explain the deep "sediment waves" (North of Menorca ). The analysis of the interaction between bottom shapes and hydrodynamic forcings is complemented by the application of sediment transport models and the formation of bottom shapes and with hydraulic channel tests. Finally, in the areas of the Ebro delta and Cabo de Palos, the bottom forms are analyzed as specific habitats, characterized by their communities and benthic habitats, and applications for the cartography of habitats integrating physical, geological and biological data are proposed, such as a utility tool in the management of the marine environment