FS Poseidon Cruises P343, 04 Oct-17 Oct 2006 and P345, 28 Nov-07 Dec 2006. RAPID-MOC Autumn 2006 Eastern Boundary moorings refurbishment cruises

This report describes the Autumn 2006 Eastern Boundary moorings refurbishment cruises for the RAPID-MOC programme Monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N. Two cruises are reported here: FS Poseidon cruise P343 (4 OCT – 17 OCT) and FS Poseidon cruise P345 (28 NOV – 7 DEC). Both cruises sailed to and from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Six moorings were recovered during P343 and 13 deployed. Parafil failures on EB1 and EB2 (5000m long moorings located near 24°N, 24°W) during deployment necessitated immediate recovery. This led to an emergency cruise P345 to recover EB2 and to redeploy EB1 and EB2. P343 was also notable for the first deployment of seven mini-moorings consisting of a single microcat between 500m and 50m depth.