| Survey Code | Chief Scientist | Organisation | Survey Name | Survey Location | Survey Objectives | Start Date | End Date |
| CE10001 | Stefan Schmolke | BSH | BSH survey no.1 | North Sea | Monitoring of physical and chemical properties of seawater in German EEZ | 21/01/2010 | 29/01/2010 |
| CE10002 | Glenn Nolan | Marine Institute | Climate change oceanography, biogeochemistry and geology sections | Rockall Trough, Atlantic, Continental Margin and Porcupine Bank | This cruise is designed to contribute Ireland’s data to the ICES working group on oceanic hydrography (WGOH). WGOH produce the ICES Report on Ocean Climate (IROC) each year which summarises oceanic variability from year to year in the ICES region. The cruise objectives are designed to deliver this data to the IROC effort. | 05/02/2010 | 17/02/2010 |
| CE10009 | Dave Wall | Irish Whale and Dolphin Group | Cetaceans on the Frontier 2010 | South West, Continental Margin and Porcupine Bank. Porcupine Seabight, Goban Spur and Whittard Canyon | To conduct a habitat focused, double platform, absolute abundance survey of cetaceans (and marine megafauna, including seabirds) in key habitats for deep-diving species on the slopes and canyon systems of the Porcupine Bank & Sea Bight.
To sample the for phytoplankton, zooplankton and krill which form the basis of the food chain which supports cetaceans, seabirds and other marine megafauna in these habitats. | 18/02/2010 | 01/03/2010 |
| CE10006 | Helen McCormick | Marine Institute | March CE 2010 Mackerel Egg survey | Celtic Sea. Survey area is shown on the attached map. | The survey aims to collect egg and fecundity data for mackerel and horse mackerel for use in the 2010 stock assessments. | 05/03/2010 | 17/03/2010 |
| CE10011 | Ciaran O'Donnell | Marine Institute | Blue whiting Acoustic Survey | Rockall Trough, Hebridean Shelf and Slope and Malin Shelf | 1. Assess the size of the spawning stock of blue whiting along the shelf break area to the W and NW of Ireland and to the W of Scotland and offshore banks.
2. Collect biological samples by trawling to determine the age structure of the stock
3. Carry out vertical CTD casts to determine the temperature and salinity profiles of the water mass. | 18/03/2010 | 07/04/2010 |
| CE10010 | Daniel Toal | University of Limerick | Holland1 ROV / UL Sonar & MPPTRing / Cathx Video Imaging Systems - Integration & Shakedown Cruise | Galway Bay | Objective 1: The integration testing and operation of the MMRRC High resolution sonar and precision navigation systems with the National ROV – Holland 1.
Objective 2: Trialling the integrated ROV, sonar and navigation systems off shore with the UL developed MPPTRing augmented reality system for ROV Pilot, surveyor and ship bridge enhanced visualisation of the ROV ops sub-sea.
Objective 3: Integration and testing of Cathx Ocean products (unique lighting for existing ROV, camera systems and high resolution long range digital colour imaging capability using the APHOS camera system) on The ROV Holland1.
Objective 4: Once integration and shakedown testing is complete, the survey will switch to scientific focus with target areas being selected by engineering team and science collaborators on the cruise targeting sites of interest for high resolution seabed imaging/mapping. | 08/04/2010 | 16/04/2010 |
| CE10014 | Anthony Grehan | National University of Ireland Galway | Deep water coral and fish interaction off the west coast of Ireland | Atlantic, Continental Margin and Porcupine Bank. Rockall Bank | Objective 1. Assessing the interaction of corals and fish (Irish contribution to FP7 CoralFISH project).
The proposed cruise is one of a pair of joint NUIG/IFREMER ROV expeditions planned in support of two FP7 Integrating Projects: HERMIONE (Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Mans Impact on European Seas) and CoralFISH - Assessment of the interaction between corals, fish and fisheries, in order to develop monitoring and predictive modelling tools for ecosystem based management in the deep waters of Europe and beyond. These cruises will focus on investigating hotspot ecosystems (deep-water corals on mounds and in canyons), and their interaction with fish, off the Irish and Biscay margins.
Objective 2. Ocean acidification and climate change studies
Physical/Chemical Oceanography
Depth profiles of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, transmissivity and dissolved oxygen (DO) will be collected along cross slope transects and at continental margin features (canyons etc.) using the CTD with bottle samples taken at selected locations/depth for ocean carbon chemistry
Ocean carbon chemistry measurements to be made will include - pH and concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved oxygen (DO) and nutrients
Objective 3. Coral Special Area of Conservation Studies | 19/04/2010 | 11/05/2010 |
| CE10003 | Glenn Nolan | Marine Institute | Climate and ecosystem sections on the Irish shelf | Celtic Sea, West, Continental Shelf and Malin Shelf | This cruise proposes to build upon the oceanographic and ecosystem data collection efforts of the past decade to understand the dynamics of living and non-living resources on the Irish continental shelf.The cruise has the following key objectives.
• Collect CTD profile data using a CTD Rosette sampling system along the standard offshore and shelf sections to include:
o Nutrient sampling
o Phytoplankton samples
o Salinity samples
o Collect CO2 samples on the cruise
•Undertake Continuous Plankton Recorder Tows in Irish waters to contribute to the SAHFOS CPR Global effort (analysis by NUI, Galway)
•Acquire Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data on the shelf to validate model output
•Collect size-fractionated baseline data on marine plankton to assess whether it can be used in monitoring of trophic status (different phytoplankton net mesh sizes will be used to achieve this).
• Deploy the MI Glider on first shelf trial missions. | 17/05/2010 | 22/05/2010 |
| CE10004 | Louise Allcock | National University of Ireland Galway | Species at the margins - diversity cruise | Rockall Trough, Continental Margin and Porcupine Bank. Canyon systems in the vicinity of 54º 06’ 14.80” N 12º 21’ 52.73”. | (1) To identify and map benthic macrofauna in slope and canyon regions using conventional cores and ROV surveys
(2) To characterize the diversity and functional diversity of the bacterial community (with a focus on water column and sponge symbionts) at different depths.
(3) To carry out preliminary on-ship screens for bioactivity on macrofaunal extracts.
(4) To collect material for the preparation of extracts in the MI biodiscovery laboratory and to supply marine structures (sponges) for biomaterials testing.
(5) To isolate bacteria from the water column and sponges and screen these extracts for bioactivity. This work will be accompanied by metagenomic screening to better understand the diversity and function of the entire (i.e. non-culturable) bacterial community.
Hydrographic and related oceanographic information will be collected alongside the main aims of the cruise to gain a better understanding of the environment within canyons and on the slope. It is intended that the cruise will act as a catalyst for collating existing material on Irish deep deep-sea biodiversity in addition to making a large contribution to the knowledge of these communities. A formal link has been made with the Census of Marine Life and this will be used to promote the cruise and strengthen networks with the international community. | 23/05/2010 | 02/06/2010 |
| CE10008 | Aggeliki Georgiopoulou | University College Dublin | Glacial and non-glacial sediment transport in the Rockall Trough and Porcupine Bank (North Atlantic) | North West, Rockall Trough, Atlantic, Continental Margin, Continental Shelf and Porcupine Bank | The objectives of the survey we are proposing are two-fold; 1) study of landslide deposits and especially their timing, frequency and flow processes and 2) study of the nature of continental margin sedimentation during both glacial- and non-glacial periods in the relatively unknown northern part of the Porcupine Bank. | 03/06/2010 | 17/06/2010 |
| CE10012 | Ciaran O'Donnell | Marine Institute | Northwest herring acoustic Survey | Malin Shelf | FSS (Fisheries Science Services) within the Marine Institute will carry out an acoustic survey along the west and northwest coasts (ICES Division VIIb, c & VIaS) to assess the size of summer feeding aggregations of herring within the Malin shelf stock complex. This survey will be the third in a new time series and a step away from the traditional spawning stock surveys focusing on autumn and winter spawning components carried out in quarter 1. | 18/06/2010 | 07/07/2010 |
| CE10007 | Brendan O' Hea | Marine Institute | July CE 2010 Mackerel Egg Surveys | North West, Celtic Sea, West, Porcupine Bank and Celtic Shelf. Survey area is shown on attached map. | The survey aims to collect egg and fecundity data for mackerel and horse mackerel for use in the 2010 stock assessments. | 08/07/2010 | 28/07/2010 |
| CE10005 | Glenn Nolan | Marine Institute | MODOO – MOdular Deep Ocean Observatory (MODOO) and its application in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain area | South West, Atlantic and Continental Margin. Porcupine Abyssal Plain | This proposal aims to demonstrate the functioning of a MOdular and mobile Deep Ocean Observatory (MODOO) with real-time data access. The work forms part of a demonstration mission funded by ESONET NoE. The MODOO system, which is comprised of a lander with an acoustic telemetry link to the EuroSITES mooring and its surface to satellite telemetry system, will be deployed by the RV James Clark Ross in May 2010 at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain. This cruise is primarily designed to recover the MODOO lander, service the sensors, download data and redeploy the lander until a recovery operation by the RV James Cook in August 2011. An ancillary task involves the collection of samples as part of the Marine Biodiscovery project in NUI, Galway. The aim of this research is to investigate the possibility that phytoplankton species in Irish waters can produce biologically active compounds (bioactives) of significance for use as human medicines.
The major scientific objective of the installation is to address the following long standing question:
Which processes initiate and control the fate of sinking material from the surface ocean to the deep sea floor?
MODOO also accommodates two guest scientific missions: (1) one mission uses time-lapse photography and passive sound recorders to investigate variations deep-sea marine life and how those variations relate to surface conditions and sinking particulate organic carbon fluxes (2) The other guest mission utilizes seismometers and high precision bottom pressure sensors in relation to Tsunami Early Warning systems in the PAP region.
The Porcupine region has been identified as one of the twelve ESONET regions for possible development of a subsea cable system (CeltNet) and thus is an ideal test bed for MODOO. ESONET NoE provides a unique opportunity to approach the scientific and technological challenges of the proposed study. | 15/09/2010 | 24/09/2010 |
| CE10015 | Dave Stokes | Marine Institute | Irish Groundfish Survey 2010 | Continental Shelf and ICES area VI | Annual survey conducted by FSS for monitoring of fish stocks around the coast of Ireland. Internationally coordinated through ICES. Survey involves the use of a demersal sampling trawl at pre-defined stations. | 25/09/2010 | 07/10/2010 |
| CE10013 | Ciaran O'Donnell | Marine Institute | Celtic Sea Herring Acoustic Survey | Celtic Sea and ICES area VI | FSS (Fisheries Science Services) within the Marine Institute carry out annual acoustic surveys in the Celtic Sea (ICES Division VIIj, g & VIIaS) to assess the size of the stock in these waters. The acoustic survey programme was first implemented in 1989 and has continued annually since. The information collected is used to provide a measure of the relative abundance of herring in the survey area. | 08/10/2010 | 28/10/2010 |
| CE10017 | RV Ops Chief Scientist | Marine Institute | BSH Survey No.4 | North Sea | Analysis of Oceanographic Conditions in German EEZ | 01/11/2010 | 10/11/2010 |
| CE10016 | Dave Stokes | Marine Institute | Irish Groundfish Survey Leg 2-3 | Celtic Sea, South West, West and Continental Shelf | Annual survey conducted by FSS for monitoring of fish stocks around the coast of Ireland. Internationally coordinated through ICES. Survey involves the use of a demersal sampling trawl at pre-defined stations. | 15/11/2010 | 20/12/2010 |