CSIOCEANS

The 6 day cruise represents the capstone event of HPR230G "CSI Oceans": a grand challenge, general education class offered through the Honors program at URI. Ten undergraduate honors students (of any major) will join the science party. In the classes leading up to the cruise, they will have learned fundamentals of oceanography, instrumentation and measurement, and also participated in building floats and drifters for deployment during the cruise. Science objectives: We will turn-around a hydroacoustic mooring located in 2000m depth just south of the shelf - see map (1.5 days). We will examine AVISO and remote sensing ocean color and SST and select a feature (eddy, filament, front) in or near the Gulf to deploy DIY drifters, floats and some 'mini-boats' built by local school groups. We will do a CTD-based survey of a feature of interest (up to 100km scale, 2 days). We will also deploy the URI glider, funded through NERACOOS and C-AIM. The overarching scientic goal fulfills the objectives laid out in Omand's CAREER proposal - to release RAFOS-tracking floats (MINIONs) that will track springtime subduction along the north wall of the Gulf Stream. Teaching objectives: We will conduct classes throughout the cruise for the students, analyze and discuss the data we collect. We will also work with the ISC staff to deliver programming to schools and through open live events. Primary funding sources affiliated with the cruise: RIEP, OTZ Network Array