GROUP
Plymouth Field Course 2019
4
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ADCP Transects
OFF-SHORE
ADCP Data:
ADCP Results:
At Station C25 (L4), there were three distinct layers moving at different velocities, with a faster stream around the thermocline as corroborated by the CTD data. The surface and near bottom water streams were both moving at ~0.2m/s. Due to electronic error, there were gaps in data represented by the blank white spaces above the thin black line. At station C26, the water column appeared to be moving at a uniform speed, indicating a well-mixed water column. At station C27, there was an area of higher velocity consistent with the deep chlorophyll maximum picked up by the CTD, causing backscatter from sinking organic matter. Along the transect from C28 (E1) there were two distinct layers delineated by a slower moving upper layer and a fast bottom water current with a velocity of ~0.5m/s. This may indicate that the ship had just passed a front, caused by the characteristics of two distinct water masses with a clear boundary travelling at different speeds, likely to be due to a difference in salinity, temperature or density, possibly forced by currents.