(No DOI)
Raw TSG data from the Walters Shoal Cruise on Algoa Voyage 207, May 2014

This is raw Thermosalinograph (TSG) data collected on the Walters Shoal Cruise on Algoa Voyage 207, 15 May to 11 June 2014. The purpose of this cruise was to survey the oceanographic conditions and plankton distributions around Walter Shoal seamount, from beyond the 1000m contour line across the plateau.

DOI: 10.15493/dea.mims.26052242
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Cape Canyon Exploration Cruise: Southern Benguela in the South-East Atlantic Ocean on the Algoa Voyage 236, March 2017

This Cape Canyon Exploration Cruise: Southern Benguela in the South-East Atlantic Ocean was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 236 from the 06 to 30 March, 2017. The overall aim of this Cape Canyon exploration project is to initiate multi-discplinary and integrated benthic ecosystem process studies within DEA:OCR, in collaboration with external experts (South African National Biodiversity Institute, South African Environmental Observations Network, Council for GeoScience and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). Objectives include the collection of basic physical, chemical, biological and oceanographic data that will enable the understanding of the environment of the canyon and an assessment of the spatial distibution of benthic species.

(No DOI)
Raw CTD data from the Pelagic Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 290, October 2016

This is raw Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) data from the Pelagic Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 290 from 25 October - 14 December 2016. The cruise operated from Hondeklip Bay to Port St Johns, South Africa.The principal aim of the Pelagic Biomass Surveys is to obtain estimates of the total biomass of anchovy, sardine and west coast round herring and to obtain data on their population length frequency compositions, for input to the operational management procedure (OMP) for making Total Allowable Catch (TAC) recommendations for the following year. The surveys also obtain information on the environment and food regime impacting anchovy, sardine and west coast round herring around the coast, although recent surveys (~2009 onwards) have included much less environmental sampling than earlier years. The survey uses hydro-acoustics to estimate fish density and abundance, and midwater trawling to identify acoustic targets and to obtain length frequency and other biological...

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.16042024
South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line cruise on the Algoa Voyage 265, September 2019

The South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Basin-wide Array (SAMBA) Monitoring Line in the South-East Atlantic Ocean was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 265 from 30 September 2019 to 16 October 2019. The cruise operated from Slangkop, off Cape Town, westwards to 0° E, in the South Atlantic Ocean along the SAMBA transect. The objectives of the cruise were to recover, service and re-deploy six (6) Pressure Inverted Echosounders (PIES); complete 37 Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) full depth casts (using the containerised winch) along the SAMBA transect; undertake Chlorophyll and Oxygen sampling at CTD stations and underway along SAMBA transect; collect underway Thermosalinograph (TSG); Surface Photosynthetically Active Radiation (SPAR) and Ship-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (S-ADCP) data and provide training to newly employed Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) personnel and interns.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.20112022
Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) on the Algoa Voyage 277, November 2021

This Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) cruise was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 277 in November 2021. This is a long-term monitoring line conducted off the coast of Kleinsee, Namaqualand, Elands/St Helena Bay and Scarborough on the west coast of South Africa. The IEP:SB in 2013 consolidated a long-term, multi-decadal time-series (from 1951 onward) of information for this important region and has continued monitoring in the form of the IEP:SB. The programme is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative and capacity building platform undertaking relevant science, including updating technology, with the aim to develop ecosystem indicators that can be used to effectively monitor and understand the Southern Benguela. These include physical, chemical, planktonic, microbial, seabird, marine mammal, benthic and pollution (plastic) ecosystem indicators as required by ecosystem-based management regarding the following priorities: ocean warming, ocean acidification, trophic...

(No DOI)
Converted CTD data from the Pelagic Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 290, October 2016

This is converted Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) data from the Pelagic Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 290 from 25 October - 14 December 2016. The cruise operated from Hondeklip Bay to Port St Johns, South Africa.The principal aim of the Pelagic Biomass Surveys is to obtain estimates of the total biomass of anchovy, sardine and west coast round herring and to obtain data on their population length frequency compositions, for input to the operational management procedure (OMP) for making Total Allowable Catch (TAC) recommendations for the following year. The surveys also obtain information on the environment and food regime impacting anchovy, sardine and west coast round herring around the coast, although recent surveys (~2009 onwards) have included much less environmental sampling than earlier years. The survey uses hydro-acoustics to estimate fish density and abundance, and midwater trawling to identify acoustic targets and to obtain length frequency and other...

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.14822023
Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) on the Algoa Voyage 293, August 2023

The Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) was conducted on the Algoa Voyage 293 in August 2023. This programme serves as a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional platform aimed at conducting scientific research in the Southern Benguela region. It also fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange. The primary objective is to develop ecosystem indicators—physical, chemical, planktonic, microbial, seabird, and benthic—that can be utilised for effective monitoring and ecosystem-based management.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.29062025
Processed underway Thermosalinograph (TSG) observations from the Marion Island Relief Voyage on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 011, April 2014

Here we present the 6 second resolution processed TSG data collected between 02 April 2014 and 06 May 2014, during Voyage 011 on the SA Agulhas II. A SeaBird SBE45 Thermosalinograph (TSG) is used to opportunistically collect underway near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements during research and monitoring cruises. Water is continuously pumped to the TSG from an intake located in the hull of the vessel, and the observations are continuously interfaced with navigational information. A temperature sensor close to the intake provides temperature measurements of the incoming water (T1). The temperature of the water inside the conductivity cell (T2) is used to accurately compute salinity (S) from the conductivity measurements (C).

DOI: 10.15493/dea.mims.26052159
Processed Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) casts collected during the 2019 Marion Relief Voyage on SA Agulhas Voyage 036

The South African component of the international South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation project (SAMOC-SA) aims to characterise the time-mean and time-varying components of the SAMOC in the South Atlantic Ocean and monitor the variability of the main Southern Ocean frontal systems associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), south of Africa. The Crossroads monitoring line, directly under the altimetry track N198, is sampled annually during the Marion Relief voyages, using a combination of CTD stations and XBT casts, where the XBT casts are done, at set intervals, between CTD stations to complement the CTD data. Here we present 57 processed XBT casts collected along the Crossroads Transect, between 10 May 2019 and 14 May 2019, during the 2019 Marion Relief Voyage.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.33122022
West Coast Hake Biomass on the Africana Voyage 039, January 1986

The objectives of this cruise were to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake; to investigate the diurnal cycle of hake and other demersal species; to investigate the environment and ecological interrelationships of hake and other demersal species; to carry out acoustic target identification of mesopelagic species with RMT 8 nets; to make a few experimental trawls in deep water to search for the other species of monkfish and to determine the offshore limit of hake distribution; if possible to rendezvous with Spanish and Soviet vessels and to carry out standardisation trawls in parallel and to conduct net mouth-opening experiments with transducers on each wing of the net.

DOI: 10.15493/dea.mims.20210420
Processed underway Thermosalinograph (TSG) observations from SA Agulhas II Voyage 037, July 2019

A SeaBird SBE45 Thermosalinograph (TSG) is used to opportunistically collect underway near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements during research and monitoring cruises. Water is continuously pumped to the TSG from an intake located in the hull of the vessel, and the observations are continuously interfaced with navigational information. A temperature sensor close to the intake provides temperature measurements of the incoming water (T1). The temperature of the water inside the conductivity cell (T2) is used to accurately compute salinity (S) from the conductivity measurements (C). Here we present the 10-second resolution processed TSG data collected between 01 July 2019 and 11 July 2019, during Voyage 037 on the SA Agulhas II.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.03552023
Anchovy and Pilchard Spawning Stock Survey on the Africana Voyage 057, November 1987

The main objective of the cruise was to determine acoustically the biomass of the pilchard and anchovy spawning stocks between Hondeklip Bay and the eastern end of the Agulhas Bank. Additionally, the relationship between the distribution of pelagic fish, their eggs and the water temperature was investigated, and chemical samples were taken along lines of stations as part of an ongoing investigation with the supply of nutrients to the Agulhas Bank.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.34122022
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West Coast Hake Biomass on the Africana Voyage 046, July 1986

The West Coast Hake Biomass was carried out on the Africana Voyage 046 from 1 to 24 July 1986.

DOI: 10.15493/dea.mims.20210419
Agulhas System Climate Array (ASCA) cruise on SA Agulhas II Voyage 037, July 2019

The Agulhas System Climate Array (ASCA) is a mooring array and is designed to provide long-term observations of the Agulhas Current's volume, heat and salt transport and its variability from mesoscale (eddies), through seasonal to interannual timescales. The ASCA shelf and tall moorings extend 200 km offshore along decending TOPEX/Jason satellite ground track # 96, through the core of the Agulhas Current, with CPIES measurements extending the array to 300km offshore of Port Elizabeth. The data collected during the ASCA project have been obtained from various oceanographic instrumentation. This data was collected during the ASCA cruise on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 037 between 01 and 16 July 2019.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.03592023
South Coast Hake Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 063, May 1988

The objective of the cruise was to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake, sole and other trawl target species; to investigate the environment and interrelationships of hake and other demersal species in various depth strata; to study demersal community relationships; to investigate the occurence, distribution and abundance of squid; to investigate the occurence of linefish species in shallow waters; and to study the biology of sharks and skates. Oceanographic research assistants were also trained.

DOI: 10.15493/dea.mims.25010006
Antarctic Voyage on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 035, December 2018

Cruise data from the Antarctic Voyage on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 035, collected between 6 December 2018 and 11 March 2019.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.05122024
Marion Island Relief Voyage on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 062, May 2024

The 2024 Marion Relief Voyage 062, offered the 12th opportunity to conduct multi-disciplinary, ship-based oceanographic research on board the SA Agulhas II en route to, from, and around, the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands (PEIs). The ship-based research was conducted as a joint multi-institutional, multidisciplinary effort with scientists, research technicians, interns and students from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment: Oceans & Coastal Research (DFFE-OCR), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment: Specialist Monitoring Services (DFFE-SMS), Bayworld Centre for Research and Education (BCRE) and the University of Cape Town (UCT), all collaborating to achieve a variety of research and monitoring project objectives. The voyage took place between 15 April 2024 and 21 May 2024.

(No DOI)
Pre-processed chlorophyll-a data from the Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) on the Algoa Voyage 218, September 2015

This is pre-processed chlorophyll-a data from the St Helena Bay Monitoring Line September 2015 cruise (now under the Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela). The St Helena Bay Monitoring Line was initiated as a BENEFIT-driven project on "shipboard monitoring" which linked with similar lines run in Namibia and Angola. The aims are to obtain seasonal and interannual information on the hydrology and productivity of the area. Data on harmful algal blooms, low oxygen water and intrusions of Agulhas Bank water along the west coast will also be collected. A long-term, multi-decadel time-series (from 1951 onward) of information already exists for this important region and has continued in the form of the IEP:SB to detect long-term changes in the hydrology and the plankton, which are important for the detection of regime shifts.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.250121-2
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St Helena Bay Monitoring Line (SHBML) on the Africana Voyage 169, September 2002

This St Helena Bay Monitoring Line (SHBML) cruise was conducted on the Africana Voyage 169 in September 2002. This is a long-term monitoring line conducted off the coast of Elands/St Helena Bay on the west coast of South Africa. SHBML started in 2000 as a BENEFIT-driven project on "shipboard monitoring" which linked with similar lines run in Namibia and Angola. The aims were to obtain seasonal and interannual information on the hydrology and productivity of the area. It was incorporated under the Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) in 2013 consolidating a long-term, multi-decadal time-series (from 1951 onward) of information for this important region and has continued monitoring in the form of the IEP:SB. The programme is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative and capacity building platform undertaking relevant science, including updating technology, with the aim to develop ecosystem indicators that can be used to effectively monitor and understand the Southern...

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.04332023
Processed CTD continuous observations from the South Coast Hake Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 048, September 1986

Here we present processed downcast Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) continuous data collected between 12 September and 03 October 1986, during the South Coast Hake Biomass Cruise on the Africana Voyage 048, in the southern part of the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ACLME) on the south coast of South Africa. Neil Brown MK3 and MK4 CTD instruments were used to measure pressure, temperature and conductivity through the water column during research and monitoring cruises between 1983 and 2000. The objective of the cruise was to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake, sole and other trawl target species; an investigation of the environment and interrelationships of hake and other demersal species in various depth strata; to investigate the occurence, distribution and abundance of squid and squid larvae; and to investigate the occurence of linefish species in shallow waters.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.28122022
West Coast Hake Biomass on the Africana Voyage 028, January 1985

The objectives of this cruise were to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake; to investigate the diurnal cycle and the environment of hake and other demersal species; to compare trawling results of R.S. Africana with those of the Chicha Touza, the Spanish trawler used for similar surveys; to carry out acoustic target identification of mesopelagic species using RMT 8 nets and to retrieve two current meter arrays deployed during Voyage 025.

(No DOI)
Raw SADCP data from the Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) on Algoa Voyage 229, August 2016

Raw Shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (SADCP) data from the Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela on Algoa Voyage 229, 10 - 19 August 2016. The Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional platform to undertake relevant science in the Southern Benguela; also functioning as a platform for collaboration and learning. All projects aim to develop an ecosystem indicator that can be used to effectively monitor and understand the Southern Benguela i.e physical, chemical, planktonic, microbial, seabird and benthic ecosystem indicators, used for ecosystem-based management.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.01872023
South Coast Hake Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 048, September 1986

The objective of the cruise was to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake, sole and other trawl target species; an investigation of the environment and interrelationships of hake and other demersal species in various depth strata; to investigate the occurence, distribution and abundance of squid and squid larvae; and to investigate the occurence of linefish species in shallow waters.

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.01292023
Processed near-surface underway temperature and salinity (TSG) observations from the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 005, December 2012

Here we present the 10-second resolution processed Thermosalinograph (TSG) data collected between 07 December 2012 and 19 February 2013, during the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 005. A SeaBird SBE45 Thermosalinograph (TSG) is used to opportunistically collect underway near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements during research and monitoring cruises. Water is continuously pumped to the TSG from an intake located in the hull of the vessel, and the observations are continuously interfaced with navigational information. A temperature sensor close to the intake provides temperature measurements of the incoming water (T1). The temperature of the water inside the conductivity cell (T2) is used to accurately compute salinity (S) from the conductivity measurements (C). The South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) is an annual cruise undertaken by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to...

DOI: 10.15493/DEA.MIMS.01902023
West Coast Hake Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 050, January 1987

The objectives of the cruise were to survey by means of trawling the abundance of adult and recruiting hake; to investigate the the diurnal cycle of hake and other demersal species; to investigate the environment and interrelationships of hake and other demersal species; to establish the offshore limit of hake and monkfish distribution and to collect deep-water specimens of fish and cephalopods; to conduct mouth-opening experiments with transducers on each wing of the net, and to compare the mouth opening and fishing capabilities of V doors and Polyvalent doors; to study community interrelationships and assemblages and to collect data on hake and other species from the International Commission for the South-East Atlantic Fisheries (ICSEAF) Division 1.5, ie: north of the South African border.

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