Coral reef monitoring and mapping at US Line Islands (OES0404, EK60). The goal of the cruise was to conduct ecosystem surveys in tropical waters near the islands of Jarvis, Palmyra, and Kingman. Surveys were conducted using the Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) method and by toad divers for fish, corals, invertebrates, and algae. Oceanographic assessment of the reef ecosystem was conducted by CTD casts for temperature and salinity and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiles for currents. Surface and subsurface temperature were also collected by towed divers and surface temperature, salinity, and fluorometer readings were continuously recorded by instruments on the Sette. Long-term monitoring was accomplished by deployment and retrieval of a variety of internally recording devices. Acoustic backscatter was monitored using an EK60 system at 38 and 120 kHz frequencies. Terrestrial wildlife visual surveys were conducted at the islands/atoll for sea and shorebirds.

Oceanographic Survey in the American Samoa Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (OES0602, EK60). Oceanographic data were collected along five predetermined transects in the American Samoa EEZ and consisted of CTD casts, trawl samples, and continuous current and EK60 recordings. CTD cats were conducted at predetermined stations. CTDs were equipped with oxygen sensors and fluorometers. Trawl operations were conducted at predetermined stations along the transects using a Cobb trawl at depths of the shallow and deep sound scattering layers. Currents were continuously monitored using a RD Instruments Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Biological backscatter were recorded using the EK60 echosounder system (38, and 120 kHz) along the transects.

Oceanographic Survey of Cross Seamount and Control Sites (OES0703L1, EK60). The goals of the cruise were to collect acoustic backscatter and oceanographic data at Cross Seamount (18°43.285’ N, longitude 158° 15.710’ W), with an approximately 400 m deep plateau, and at control sites in the surrounding environment. Data collected consisted of CTD casts, trawl samples, and continuous monitoring of currents and biological acoustic backscatter. CTD cats were conducted at predetermined stations. CTDs were equipped with oxygen sensors and fluorometers, and water was sampled at discrete depths during each cast for chloropigment determinations. Trawl operations were conducted at predetermined stations using a Cobb trawl at depths of the shallow (nighttime) and deep (day and nighttime) sound scattering layers. Currents were continuously monitored using a RD Instruments Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) operating at 75 kHz frequency. Biological backscatter were recorded using the EK60 echosounder system (38, and 120 kHz) along predetermined transects.

2014 Spring CalCOFI. The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) are a unique partnership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The organization was formed in 1949 to study the ecological aspects of the sardine population collapse off California. Today our focus has shifted to the study of the marine environment off the coast of California, the management of its living resources, and monitoring the indicators of El Nino and climate change. CalCOFI conducts quarterly cruises off southern and central California, collecting a suite of hydrographic and biological data on station and underway. Data collected at depths down to 500 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.

Island Wake Hotspots. Subsurface features were sampled with multi-frequency acoustics, CTD profiles, pairovet and bongo nets sampling different components of the ichthyoplankton and zooplankton assemblages. Juvenile fishes and squid were sampled with an Isaacs-Kidd mid-water trawl (IKMT). Repeat passes of a glider upstream of the area at Point Conception provided detailed sections of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, velocity and acoustic backscatter. Surface plankton will be sampled with manta nets, the Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler, thermo-salinograph, and remote sensing. The wakes are expected to be relatively small, with complex sub-mesoscale structure, and strong temporal variability. The primary species focus of this study was small pelagic fish, rockfishes, and squids. However, the full ichthyoplankton community was counted according to usual protocols, and all species from the IKMT were identified, counted and preserved. Calibrated acoustic backscatter data were interpreted using catches from bongo nets and IKMT and predicted frequency-dependent scattering. CUFES data were enumerated and samples preserved according to normal protocols.

Summer 2012 CalCOFI. The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) are a unique partnership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The organization was formed in 1949 to study the ecological aspects of the sardine population collapse off California. Today our focus has shifted to the study of the marine environment off the coast of California, the management of its living resources, and monitoring the indicators of El Nino and climate change. CalCOFI conducts quarterly cruises off southern and central California, collecting a suite of hydrographic and biological data on station and underway. Data collected at depths down to 500 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.

2016 Summer CalCOFI. The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) are a unique partnership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The organization was formed in 1949 to study the ecological aspects of the sardine population collapse off California. Today our focus has shifted to the study of the marine environment off the coast of California, the management of its living resources, and monitoring the indicators of El Nino and climate change. CalCOFI conducts quarterly cruises off southern and central California, collecting a suite of hydrographic and biological data on station and underway. Data collected at depths down to 500 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.

NEFSC 2008 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey (AL0803, EK500). The NEFSC bottom trawl survey is a fisheries independent, multi-species survey that provides the primary scientific data for fisheries assessments in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Two bottom trawl surveys are conducted each year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. The survey is a standardized, stratified random design, with stratification based on bathymetry and multiple trawl sites within each stratum. Trawl sites are selected randomly, but the overall ship path is south to north. The survey covers the continental shelf and U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina into the Canadian EEZ. The primary gear is a bottom trawl, with CTD, multifrequency echosounder, and a host of other scientific sensor data collected ancillary to the bottom trawl catches.

NEFSC 2008 Spring Bottom Trawl Survey (AL0801, EK500). The NEFSC bottom trawl survey is a fisheries independent, multi-species survey that provides the primary scientific data for fisheries assessments in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Two bottom trawl surveys are conducted each year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. The survey is a standardized, stratified random design, with stratification based on bathymetry and multiple trawl sites within each stratum. Trawl sites are selected randomly, but the overall ship path is south to north. The survey covers the continental shelf and U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina into the Canadian EEZ. The primary gear is a bottom trawl, with CTD, multifrequency echosounder, and a host of other scientific sensor data collected ancillary to the bottom trawl catches.

NEFSC 2005 Spring Bottom Trawl Survey (AL0504, EK500). The NEFSC bottom trawl survey is a fisheries independent, multi-species survey that provides the primary scientific data for fisheries assessments in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Two bottom trawl surveys are conducted each year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. The survey is a standardized, stratified random design, with stratification based on bathymetry and multiple trawl sites within each stratum. Trawl sites are selected randomly, but the overall ship path is south to north. The survey covers the continental shelf and U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina into the Canadian EEZ. The primary gear is a bottom trawl, with CTD, multifrequency echosounder, and a host of other scientific sensor data collected ancillary to the bottom trawl catches.