| Summary: | Progress Code: completed Statement: The Dates provided in temporal coverage are approximate only, and represent the beginning and end of the 2007 - 2009 Antarctic seasons. The latitudes and longitudes provided in spatial coverage are approximate only. 2007/2008 Season The original work plan requested 48 days of on-site ship time and included sampling both pelagic and benthic environments from the Aurora Australis. It soon became evident that there was insufficient ship time to adequately support all the major marine science projects in the 2007/08 season, i.e. the SIPEX sea ice survey PN2901 and PN2767, CASO PN2973 and CEAMARC PN2792. Both CASO and CEAMARC required the same sampling period of January and February for optimal success. The Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology was invited to collaborate on CEAMARC with their vessel Umitaka Maru. Umitaka Maru conducted the sampling of plankton and fish in the pelagic and mesopelagic zones over 15 days in the survey area. Aurora Australis conducted the sampling for demersal fish and benthic organisms with 20 days allocated on site. Astrolabe joined the project providing an additional 10 days of plankton sampling to compliment the Umitaka Maru work. Complimentary oceanographic sampling was conducted on all vessels. The combined 45 days proved more effective than the original planned 48 days on one ship, which had a substantial amount of time scheduled for changing gear between benthic and pelagic equipment as well as backtracking over the same ground. Three ships also provided more berths for more scientists and international collaborators and produced a greater number of sites sampled. Spreading the work amongst three ships also allowed the CASO and CEAMARC projects to combine on one voyage providing greater synergy between the two projects. Taken from the 2008-2009 Progress Report: Variations to work plan or objectives: The original work plan requested 48 days of on-site ship time and included sampling both pelagic and benthic environments from the ...
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