GP17 info

GP17 (PACIFIC – South) Planning

U.S. GEOTRACES is planning to extend its meridional transect, initiated on the 2018 GP15 Alaska-Tahiti expedition, south to the Antarctic ice edge and then east to Chile. This transect was designated GP17 in the original series of the International GEOTRACES Program, but was not discussed in the US GEOTRACES basin planning workshops (2008-2009). Because of the potentially important TEI inputs and transformations occurring in Antarctic waters and shelves, GP17 would also have a second leg into coastal and shelf waters of Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea. A collection of slides illustrating the oceanographic features that motivate these cruises can be found here:

GP17-Ocean Features and rationale

GP17-Antarctica Features and rationale

More detailed plans for the GP17-Ocean (GP17-OCE) and -Antarctic (GP17-ANT) expeditions will be discussed at the upcoming online planning workshop scheduled for 6-8 May, 2020. [Zoom mtg link]

To inform the discussions at the May planning meeting and to aid in proposal preparation, links are provided to all of the submitted statements of interest. The management proposal for each cruise will be made available if a favorable funding decision is made. 

The two legs of this cruise will:

  • Complete the meridional transect of the Pacific Ocean begun on GP15 (2018)
  • Capture deep Pacific Ocean inputs to the Drake Passage
  • Further our understanding of shelf and slope processes in the Amundsen Sea
  • Study the behavior and distribution of TEIs in the Amundsen Sea Polynya(s).

GP17-OCE and GP17-ANT cruise tracks

GP17-OCE,ANT

The leg will begin in Papeete, Tahiti, work south to the ice edge in the western Amundsen Sea, continue sampling to the east, and then cross to Punta Arenas, Chile in order to sample the deep Pacific waters thought to supply TEIs to the Southern Ocean in the Drake Passage region.

The leg will depart from southern South America (Punta Arenas) and  transit to the west end of the Amundsen Sea, where the ship will enter the ice. The cruise will study shelf and slope processes affecting TEIs, including the influence of Amundsen Sea Polynya(s). This work will require an ice breaker.

Click on GP17-OCE and GP17-ANT for links to a collection of slides that illustrate features that motivate a GEOTRACES study of this region

Funding and Support from: