NBP9507

Through December 11, Larry Lawver is chief scientist on a cruise aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer to investigate portions of the southwest Scotia Sea and Bransfield basin. The abstract from his NSF -funded proposal summarizes some of the objectives of the 41-day cruise. The program director has coupled Lawver's program (chiefly seismic and swath bathymetry) with that of Gary Klinkhammer (Oregon State University) who is studying the water chemistry in hopes of identifying hydrothermal plumes associated with active volcanism in Bransfield basin. Weekly reports from the cruise, including images, are available for the following weeks:

Week 1    transit from Punta Arenas, Chile, surveying the Shackleton Fracture Zone Ridge, Bransfield volcano
Week 2    swath mapping, early ZAPS sled work in Bransfield basin, rendezvous with the Polar Duke
Week 3    exciting ZAPS results, seismic in the souhwest Scotia Sea, cores, bottom photos, dredging
Week 4    outing to Base Frei, Bransfield seismic, Deception Island, Thanksgiving in transit