Campaign archives

University of Liège - Unité d’Océanographie Chimique
Alberto Borges, Bruno Delille

ANTARES 4

Antarctic
Polar Zone: Southern Ocean (Crozet Basin)
Begin date: 01/1999 – end date: 02/1999

• Title: ANTARES 4
• Summary: From 4 January to 23 February 1999, an international scientific team has carried out the fourth cruise of project ANTARES, whose general objective is describing and modelling the cycle of carbon and associated biogenic elements in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.
  Global modelling of the oceanic carbon cycle is an essential tool for the quantification of atmospheric CO2 and the prediction of its future changes. Project ANTARES (1993-2001) includes several components: process studies carried out on 4 field cruises, one study of seasonal variations of the vertical fluxes of biogenic materials using moored sediment traps, and a modelling action.
  The project is a contribution to the French national programme PROOF (PROcessus biogéochimiques dans l'Océan et Flux, i.e. Biogeochemical Processes in the Ocean and Fluxes) and is supported by INSU (Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers) of CNRS. The general framework of these studies is the international programme JGOFS (Joint Global Ocean Flux Study). The 1999 cruise has satisfactorily fulfilled its objectives for in situ measurements and sampling. It should in particular provide an assessment of the stocks and fluxes of biogenic materials (carbon, nitrogen, silicon) produced in the euphotic layer and exported to depth, with the aim of modelling the biological CO2 pump.
• Vessel: R.V. Marion Dufresne

Belgian projects

• Title: BELCANTO I - An Integrated Approach to Assess Carbon Dynamics in the Southern Ocean
• Participants: Dr Marc Elskens, Dr Bruno Delille, Thierry Cattaldo