Abstract:
This cruise report provides a record of data collected aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer
during cruise C-203 (U.S. State Department Cruise 2005-096), which departed from Key
West, FL on 8 February 2006 and transited through the Florida Straits, the Sargasso
Sea, and the Caribbean Sea before returning to Key West on 18 March 2006 (Figure 1). During the six week voyage we collected samples or data at 84 discrete oceanographic
stations (Table 1), surface samples at 110 locations (Table 2), and we continuously
sampled water depth and sub-bottom profiles (CHIRP system), upper ocean currents
(Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, or ADCP), and sea surface temperature, salinity and
in vivo fluorescence (seawater flow-through system). This report summarizes sea
surface chemical and biological characteristics (Tables 2 and 3), chemical properties
with depth (Table 4), and surface sediment properties (Table 5). Lengthy CTD, CHIRP,
ADCP, and flow-through data are not reported here. All unpublished data can be made
available by arrangement with the Sea Education Association (SEA) data archivist
(contact information, p. 2). The information in this report is not intended to represent final interpretation of the data and should not be excerpted or cited without written
permission from SEA.
As part of SEA’s educational program, students conduct oceanographic research at sea
for studies they have designed prior to the cruise. Student projects span the four major
disciplines of oceanography – physical, chemical, biological, and geological
oceanography (Table 6). Student research efforts culminate in a written paper and an
oral presentation to the ship’s company. The student research papers from cruise C-203
are available upon request from SEA.
