Objectives Cruise D301/302

Long-Term Ocean Climate Observations (LOCO)

Cruise Objectives
The climatologically important interbasin leakage of Indian Ocean water into the South Atlantic is thought to be largely controlled by the inflows into the Agulhas Current on its upstream edge. In the far field this inflow is fed by the South Equatorial Current via two routes, the Mozambique Current and the East Madagascar Current. In order to obtain more detailed observations on the flow in the Mozambique Channel and on its year to year variability, an array of moorings with current meters (and one sediment trap) has been deployed at the narrowest section for a period of 5 years. The first deployment was done in November 2003 and first servicing of the moorings has been done in February 2005. In the coming years servicing is needed each 1-1.5 years Thus the first purpose of the present cruise in February 2005 is to recover the moorings in the Mozambique Channel. These moorings will be redeployed after the data have been retrieved and the instruments have been serviced. The second purpose is to obtain hydrographic observations along the section where the moorings are deployed. The research is part of the Dutch contribution to the international CLIVAR (CLImate VARiability) programme which is part of the WCRP (World Climate Research Program). The Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (Royal NIOZ), Utrecht University (RUU) and the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) participate in this study that is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) through the Long-term Ocean Climate Observations (LOCO) programme.