SAGA10W Cruise, RV Sarmiento de Gamboa

SAGA: The South Atlantic GAteway in the global conveyor belt. The general objective of the SAGA project is to quantify and monitor the returning limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the South Atlantic Ocean , with special attention to the interior-ocean zonal flows linking the eastern and western South Atlantic basins. During the SAGA10W cruise, the installation of different equipment on the seabed is planned, that will make it possible to find out how the currents of the South Atlantic behave and how they are connected with the Southern Ocean. During the cruise it is planned to deploy a series of devices to measure different oceanographic variables at a depth between 2 and 4 kilometres deep in 7 locations located between 34ºS and 19ºS along the 10ºW meridian: 4 PIES (Pressure Inverted Echo Sounder) —which allow the reconstruction of the thermohaline structure of the water column— and 3 anchors that incorporate current meters —the currents— and CTDs —the temperature, salinity and conductivity of the water. The anchors will be in the water for two years, after which the data will be collected and analysed. The PIES, on the other hand, will remain on the seabed for four years, although at 16 and 32 months some units will be released and will be raised to the sea surface to transmit the collected data