Project Title

US Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program (AMLR)

Summary

Event Number:
B-006-L
NSF / NOAA Agreement

Program Director:
(Other)

ASC POC/Implementer:
David Rivera / Cara Ferrier

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. George Watters
george.watters@noaa.gov
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
La Jolla, California

Location

Supporting Stations: ARSV Laurence M. Gould
Research Locations: Livingston Island

Description

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries' Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) program collects data and provides scientific information to better inform decision making by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources. For the past 25 austral summers, the AMLR field program has been conducted in the vicinity of Elephant Island, the South Shetland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division (AERD, Southwest Fisheries Science Center) will deploy an array of upward-looking acoustic moorings and a fleet of autonomous gliders, equipped with acoustic sensors to collect data on biomass distribution and transport of krill. The objectives of this work are: 1) to quantify and understand interactions between krill, krill predators (e.g., penguins and seals), and the Antarctic krill fishery; 2) to estimate krill flux through and standing biomass in areas where krill, predators, and the fishery overlap in space and time. The deployment of moorings and gliders off Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island continues a time series established in 2018, while the moorings and gliders deployed in Bransfield and Gerlache Straits will provide data on biomass of krill in the Bransfield Strait.

Field Season Overview

Project personnel, in collaboration with Palmer LTER program personnel, will deploy up to six subsurface moorings and two Slocum gliders. Time on station for each mooring operation is expected to be approximately two to three hours. Subsurface floats will be connected to a terminal top-side assembly, which will be outfitted with an acoustic package consisting of an upward-facing sonar, a conductivity temperature depth (CTD) instrument, and an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP).

Deploying Team Members