Scientists aboard the Global Ocean Ship-Based Hydrographics Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) cruise have landed in Reykjavik, Iceland, after an incredible 55 days at sea!

The expedition, which has taken place every decade for the last 30 years, aims to identify long-term patterns in our ocean's health and operation.

The GO-SHIP A16N cruise is motoring north through the Atlantic Ocean, collecting data that will allow scientists to answer critical questions about changes in ocean circulation, the ocean's uptake of human-related carbon dioxide, and ocean biology's response to climate change.

Before they landed, Jessica Leonard, physical oceanographer aboard the NOAA Ronald Brown was reported by NOAA to have said that, "we are on our way through the Northern Atlantic in the Western European Basin on Station 131/152 with just under a week to go! Only 150 nautical miles until we enter the Icelandic Basin." 

The scientists boarded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Ronald H. Brown at Suape, Brazil, on March 6, 2023, for a 55-day cruise. With 150 planned stops along the voyage route, the scientists collected data from the ocean's surface to the seafloor, occasionally reaching depths of more than 5,000 meters (3.1 miles).

Myjoyonline reported on March 13, 2023, that the trip was part of a broader worldwide initiative known as the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP), which made repeat ocean observations at decadal intervals through a global network of cruise tracks.

The data collected on the cruise will answer crucial issues about changes in ocean circulation and the ocean's uptake of human-emitted carbon dioxide.

Scientists will also look into how global warming affects ocean water movement and how it affects the climate, particularly in crucial areas like the North Atlantic.

The expedition also prioritized characterizing ocean life's responses to continuing climate change.

On the A16N journey, scientists obtained many biological measures, including environmental DNA (eDNA) samples for the first time.

The Atlantic is the only ocean basin with extensive variations in three key nutrients required for ocean life growth: nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron.

The availability of such basic nutrients impacts the diversity, distribution, and functioning of marine life and biogeochemical cycles in the Atlantic in a unique way.

Scientists will also look into how ocean warming affects the movement of ocean water over the entire world and influences our climate, particularly in important regions in the North.

Data obtained during the journey will aid in tracking the biological changes of the Atlantic Ocean and increasing our overall understanding of the diverse life that inhabits it.

The GO-SHIP trips provide an important platform for testing, launching, and calibrating ocean observing systems.

Aside from taking water samples, scientists on A16N deployed up to 18 robotic Argo floats capable of detecting ocean biogeochemistry and the deep ocean, as well as up to 40 drifters as part of NOAA's Global Drifter Program.

The trip brought together 45 researchers from fifteen different institutions to gather high-accuracy measurements, test new instrumentation, and work toward better understanding and modeling of the ocean ecosystem.

Scientists from NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory collaborated on the study, which was funded by NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program and the National Science Foundation.

The A16N cruise will also be the last research expedition for the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown for a year and a half, as it is planned for dry-docking and maintenance, as well as the first NOAA GO-SHIP mission since 2018.

Credit: NOAA