During the course of the year, the oceanographic vessel ARA “Austral” carried out scientific campaigns in different areas of the maritime spaces under national jurisdiction. With the objective of carrying out the first research campaign in the Yaganes Marine Protected Area, on October 25 she set sail from the Mar del Plata Naval Base to the city of Ushuaia, where she loaded scientific material and personnel.
Located in the sub-Antarctic region, between the southern tip of the American continent and the Antarctic Peninsula, Yaganes is the third oceanic Marine Protected Area in Argentina, and given its location, it could be influenced by water masses of different origin, representing an area of interest. scientific.
The unit, commanded by Commander Juan Manuel Squillacci, operated for 20 days, carrying out 51 sampling stations in the marine area and its zone of influence.
During the campaign, different studies were carried out: physical and chemical oceanography, sediment characterization, acoustic, biological, zoo and ichthyoplankton ecology, top predators – birds and mammals and acoustic surveys, among others, returning to the city of Ushuaia on November 21 , after specifying all the planned stations.
To carry out this campaign, the “Austral” embarked personnel from the Austral Center for Scientific Research (CADIC), the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP), the Naval Hydrography Service (SIHN), the University of Buenos Aires ( UBA), from the Institute of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution of Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), from the Institute of Biodiversity and Applied Experimental Biology (IBBEA), from the National University of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF) and the Sea and Atmosphere Research Center (CIMA).
SAMOC campaign
After a brief period of enlistment at the Mar del Plata Naval Base, the unit returned to sea in order to carry out the South Atlantic Meridional Overtuning Circulation (SAMOC) Scientific Campaign.
The crew and scientific personnel will be on board for approximately 15 days, starting December 3, visiting 24 environmental stations, with two deep anchorages in the marine area and its zone of influence. In this campaign, maintenance tasks will be carried out on the equipment anchored in the extreme west of the South Atlantic and new observations of the vertical structure of the water masses in the region will be acquired.
This campaign is part of the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation project, in which institutions from Argentina, Germany, Brazil, the United States of America, France and South Africa participate.
Specifically during the campaign, tasks will be carried out at the western end of the “SAMOC Basin-wide Array” (SAMBA) line, called SAMBA-W.
The objective is to coordinate and strengthen human and institutional resources in the South American countries, with the purpose of advancing in the understanding of the joint effects of global change and climate variability, in the oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems of the western South Atlantic region.