Cruise Report S-215 : scientific activites undertaken aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans, Tahiti, French Polynesia – Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia– Oahu, HI, USA, 13 February – 21 March 2008

Abstract

This cruise report provides a record of data collected aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans during Cruise S-215 during February – March of 2008. The cruise track transected the central Pacific Ocean from Tahiti, French Polynesia to Oahu, HI with a port stop at Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia (Fig. 1). The sea-going program is an extension of Sea Education Association (SEA) courses conducted for six weeks on shore in Woods Hole and emphasizes the application of theoretical concepts to the study of the oceans. Oceanographic research conducted during Cruise S-215 involved extensive data collection for individual student projects (Table 1) and ongoing SEA research programs. The student projects focused on current scientific problems in physical, chemical, biological, geological, and environmental oceanography, and stressed the interdisciplinary nature of the applied science. In particular, the complex interaction of oceanic processes was emphasized by interdisciplinary, regional, and temporal comparative analyses of the various data sets collected.