The recent oceanographic campaign of the Austral vessel ends

After 31 days and 5,700 kilometers traveled, the YTEC-GTGM6 campaign has ended, in which scientists from various disciplines such as geology, biology and oceanography participated, together with a crew from the Argentine Navy.

The campaign was carried out on board the oceanographic vessel Austral, belonging to the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina and operated by the Naval Hydrography Service (SHN), dependent on the Secretariat of Research, Industrial Policy and Production for Defense of the Ministry of Defense of the Nation.

During the campaign, a wealth of scientific data was collected and, with funding from Y-TEC, the possible presence of gas and oil on the ocean floor was explored.

The ship set sail on August 9 from the Naval Base in Mar del Plata with the objective of carrying out the aforementioned scientific campaign in the area of ​​the Gulf of San Jorge, the Tierra del Fuego Platform and the Southwestern Malvinas basin. Some of the campaign’s research is linked to the objectives of Y-TEC, an energy R&D company of CONICET and YPF, which aims to detect the presence of gas on the ocean floor. This campaign was financed by Y-TEC.

“The volume and diversity of data obtained in the YTEC-GTGM6 campaign allows us to evaluate the work carried out as highly successful,” says Alejandro Tassone, the scientific coordinator of the campaign corresponding to the Expanded Marine Geology Working Group (GTGM-A).

CONICET’s Austral vessel. (Photo: CONICET. CC BY 2.5 AR)

The campaign in numbers

In numbers, the YTEC-GTGM6 campaign is the one that has carried out the largest number of maneuvers that included different tasks of marine geophysics survey and sampling of the physical, biotic and chemical environment, the water column, and the marine substrate. As a result of the activities, 2,600 square kilometers of high-resolution 3D bathymetry data were added to the knowledge of the submerged Argentine territory, of which 49.64 square kilometers were surveyed in the area of ​​the Gulf of San Jorge, 1,653 square kilometers in the area of ​​the Malvinas basin, 540 square kilometers in the Austral basin and 333 square kilometers in the area of ​​the Mitre peninsula. In addition, 22 high-resolution 2D seismic reflection profiles were surveyed, with a sparker-type transmitter, accounting for 408.3 kilometers of total record. The direct sampling tasks of marine sediment provided a total of 174 subsamples for various lines of study. The total amount of sediment recovered from the cores was 70 meters.

In addition, to study the water column, 4 oceanographic stations with a CTD coupled to a rosette were completed together with 12 surface water sampling stations, which were complemented with 49 water samples for salinity and 28 for phytoplankton studies (both obtained from the thermosalinometer). Associated with the CTD-Rosette stations and in some cases also at the Gravity core/Box core stations, 23 surface samplings were carried out with plankton nets to study mesozooplankton and phytoplankton, and with a minibongo net for zooplankton sampling.

Tassone concludes that “the work carried out during the campaign constitutes an important step towards generating knowledge about a significant portion of submerged Argentine territory. This does not only mean understanding the topography of the territory, but also the ecosystems that inhabit this deep sea, the oceanographic dynamics of the area and how these elements are interrelated. Furthermore, we must take into account that the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean represents an area with growing interest due to the presence of renewable and non-renewable natural resources. This is why the production and promotion of scientific knowledge is essential so that the development of these resources is sustainable and effective preservation and management policies can be promoted. We believe that the results of the campaign carried out are moving in this direction.”

About the CONICET Austral vessel

It has an overall length of 97.6 metres and weighs about 4,734 tonnes. It uses a diesel-electric propulsion system that allows it to reach a speed of 12.5 knots. The vessel can accommodate up to 25 scientists and 25 technicians or nautical personnel on board.

It has six cabinets: for seismology, compressed air for seismic, hydroacoustics, oceanography, geology and chemistry. It also has an oceanographic and magnetic prospecting winch; dredgers and trawlers with built-in video cameras; satellite image receivers and meteorological charts; and a seabed observation system, among other operational capabilities and scientific equipment.

It is a research platform that allows the development of activities related to geology, geophysics, geodynamics and seismic, physical, chemical and biological oceanography; and has the capacity to identify areas of hydrocarbon and food wealth. (Source: CONICET. CC BY 2.5 AR)