RRS James Clark Ross Cruises JR265 and JR254D, 27 Nov-24 Dec 2011. Part 1: The Drake Passage hydrographic repeat section SR1b

This report describes the 17th complete occupation of the Drake Passage CTD section, established during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment as repeat section SR1b. It wasfirst occupied by National Oceanography Centre (previously IOSDL and then SOC) in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey in 1993, and has been re-occupied most years since then. Thirty two full depth stations were performed during JR265: two test stations, and all 30 of the nominal stations for the SR1b Drake Passage section. An initial result is that the estimated total transport measured across the section was 133 Sv which compares well to an average transport measured from the 16 previous UK cruises of 135 Sv (standard deviation of 7 Sv). In conjunction with the hydrographic cruise, a "Waves Aerosol and Gas Exchange Study" (WAGES) intensive observation cruise JR245D was also carried out. WAGES involves continuous measurement of the air-sea turbulent fluxes of CO2, sea spray aerosol, momentum and sensible and latent heat fluxes, plus directional sea-state and whitecap parameters using systems installed on the ship in May 2010. In addition to the continuous measurements, a number of intensive observation periods (IOPs) have been carried out by WAGES staff on board the ship. These involve deployments of a spar buoy to measure wave breaking and an aerial camera system to measure whitecap fraction. The activities of JR254D are summarised here, but are described in detail in a separate cruise report. Cruise JR264 was carried out by NOC-L staff at the same time as JR265 and JR254D. JR264 is also the subject of a separate cruise report. The CTD was an underwater SBE 9 plus unit equipped with the following sensors: dual temperature and conductivity sensors, a pressure sensor encased in the SBE underwater unit, a SBE-43 oxygen probe, an Aquatracka MKIII fluorometer, a transmissometer, an upwardlooking downwelling PAR sensor, and an altimeter. A downward-looking LADCP (RDI Workhorse Monitor 300 kHz) was deployed on all stations. Various underway measurements were obtained, including navigation, VM-ADCP, sea surface temperature and salinity, water depth and various meteorological parameters. A practical aim during this cruise was to update the detailed guides for each of the hydrographic data streams which were first written duringJR195 in 2009. The hydrographic data analysis was performed using "MSTAR", a suite of Matlab programs developed at NOCS by Brian King and used on the JCR for the first time during JR195

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise 193, 29 Nov – 08 Dec 2007. Drake Passage repeat hydrography: WOCE Southern Repeat Section 1b – Burdwood Bank to Elephant Island.

A repeat hydrographic section (WOCE section SR1b) across Drake Passage was occupied during November and December 2007 aboard the RRS James Clark Ross (JR193). This is a section across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current at its narrowest point, with the primary objective of this cruise being to determine the currents, characteristics and transports of the various water masses.A total of 42 CTD/LADCP stations were sampled across Drake Passage and down to Rothera, of which 30 comprised the SR1b repeat hydrographic section between Burdwood Bank and Elephant Island. In addition to temperature, salinity and oxygen profiles from the sensors on the CTD package, water samples from the 24-bottle rosette were analysed for salinity at each station, in order to calibrate the CTD salinity profiles. In addition, samples were collected from the ships underway system to calibrate and complement the data continually collected by the OceanLogger. Full depth velocity measurements were made at every station by an LADCP(lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler) mounted on the frame of the rosette. Throughout the cruise, velocity data in the upper few hundred metres of the water column were collected by the ships VMADCP (vessel mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler) mounted on the hull. Meteorological variables were monitored using the onboard surface water and meteorological sampling system. Bathymetry data were also collected using a Simrad EA600 echo-sounder, and a number of ARGO floats and a surface drifter deployed.The work is a component of the "Sustained Observations" supported by NERC's Oceans 2025 programme. This report describes the methods used to acquire and process the data on board the ship during cruise JR193

The New Control and Interlock System for the SPS Main Power Converters

The Control and Interlock System (CIS) of the SPS main power converters was designed in the mid-70s and became increasingly difficult to maintain. A new system based on Programmable Logic Controllers has been developed by an external contractor in close collaboration with CERN. The system is now operational and fully integrated in the SPS/LEP control infrastructure. The CIS is the first major contracted industrial solution used to control accelerator equipment directly involved in the production of particle beams at CERN. This paper gives an overview of the SPS main power converter installation and describes both the contractual and technical solution adopted for the CIS. It first explains how the system was specified and how the contractual relationship was defined to respect CERNs purchasing rules and the operational requirements of the SPS accelerator. The architectural design of the new system is presented with special emphasis on how the conflict between safety and availability has been addressed