Deployment: PS02_2002

Cruise dates provided by David Forcucci, USCG Science Liaison

Brief cruise plan description:
Three ships were involved in the SOFeX experiment. Each ship operated in the study area at a different time to afford the longest observation time. The designations SOFeX-N and SOFeX-S are sometimes used to distinguish between two iron enriched patches - one in low silicate waters north of the polar front (SOFEX-N), and the other in high silicate waters south of the polar front (SOFEX-S). All three ships, Melville (MV), Revelle (RR) and Polar Star (PS), worked in SOFEX-S, but only the Revelle and Melville worked in the SOFeX N patch and shuttled between the two patches.

The USCGC Polar Star was the third of the three vessels to occupy the SOFeX study area in 2002. The main focus of the scientific party aboard the Polar Star was to assess how much carbon was removed from the iron fertilized patches. The cruise report includes a more complete description of the Polar Star cruise and a cruise logbook includes daily entries filed by the Chief Scientist aboard each vessel.