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A Very Long-Term Study

WHOI shipboard technician Dave Sims (left) and assistants wrangle a CTD rosette on a rainy night aboard the R/V Atlantis. During the April 2012 cruise, researchers measured currents and studied water properties from French Guiana in South America to the Grand Banks of Canada. This was the latest in a series of cruises spanning decades and programs to study Earth’s climate system. WHOI scientists have led several several of the cruises, which have taken measurements at the same locations in different years and seasons. Val Worthington made the first cruise in 1956, and Michael McCartney, Bob Pickart, and John Toole followed in 1983, 1997, and 2003, respectively. McCartney also led the 2012 effort, which was part of the international CLIVAR program.(Photo by Donglai Gong, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)