Completion of Japan-GEOTRACES section GP22 on the Western Pacific Ocean

GEOTRACES Japan has successfully completed the section GP22 after finishing the cruise KH-23-2 (1 June, Tokyo – 25 June, Tokyo) on R.V Hakuho-Maru. This is the Leg 3 of this section. Leg 1 and 2 were completed last year during KH-22-7 cruise (from June to September), however Leg 3 had to be postponed due to the increase of the oil price.

During the KH-23-2 cruise, 34 scientists, technicians, and students were on board to pursue international collaborative studies on GEOTRACES. They occupied 6 stations and obtained seawater samples and particulate samples for the full-depth profiles of trace elements and their isotopes in the western North Pacific. Moreover, they collected bottom sediments with a multiple corer and aerosol samples with high-volume air samplers. Hopefully, the obtained data by this cruise will play an important role in the GEOTRACES programme as zonal line data in the western Pacific Ocean.

Cruise chief scientist: Prof. Hajime Obata