BLAST
type: Concept
definition: The Bromine Latitudinal Air/Sea Transect (BLAST) expeditions by NOAA/CMDL consisted of 3 cruises. BLAST I in 1994 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, BLAST II, also in 1994 in the Atlantic Ocean, and BLAST III in 1996 in the Southern Oceans near Antarctica. The BLAST I 1994 expedition was intended to test the reliabilty of a gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer (GC/MS) combination instrument at sea and then measure methyl bromide (CH3Br) in the marine air and the surface waters of the East Pacific Ocean to determine whether the ocean is a source or a sink for this compound. Along with methyl bromide, about 20 other compounds in both air and surface waters was measured. The BLAST I expedition started in Seattle, WA, crossed several regions of the East Pacific and reached the inland passage of Chile at 41 degrees S, and finally Punta Arenas, Chile, at 54 degrees S about 4.5 weeks after its beginning. The NOAA Ship Discoverer (R 102) was used in the BLAST I expedition. The BLAST II 1994 cruise was a continuation of the BLAST I 94 mission in order to verify findings from the first cruise, but in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Pacific. In addition to all compounds that were measured during BLAST 94, other halogenated methanes were also measured. The cruise covered an equally wide latitudinal range as BLAST 94, similar oceanic regimes such as coastal and coastally influenced waters, upwelling regions and open ocean gyres, but slightly different seasons, fall in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere. The entire cruise was almost 5 weeks long and was conducted between 18 October, 1994 and 21 November, 1994. The data for methyl bromide basically confirmed what was seen during BLAST I 94 and contributed valuable information to NOAA/CMDL's database for methyl halides. The ship FS Polarstern, used for the BLAST II expedition, operates out of Bremerhaven, Germany, and is run by the Alfred Wegener Polarforschung mainly as a research vessel and supply ship f…
in scheme: projects

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type: Concept