GABEX II: Hydrographic data report, July-August 1981

This report documents hydrographic data collected during six cruises on the R/V Cape Henlopen in 1981: CW81-01 (10-16 July), CW81-02 (19-23 July), CW81-03 (26-30 July), CW81-04 (2-6 August), CW81-05 (9-13 August), and CW81-06 (16-21 August) as part of the Georgia Bight Experiment II (GABEX II). The purpose of GABEX II was to observe summertime intrusions of Gulf Stream water onto the continental shelf off northeast Florida and Georgia, and to evaluate the importance of these intrusions on shelf dynamics and on the distribution and productivity of plankton. The experiment included current meter moorings and shipboard hydrographic observations. The result was a cruise track and schedule that covered the area from Cape Canaveral to Savannah every week with the St. Augustine section being repeated twice each week. Forty-five cross-shelf hydrographic sections were completed during July to August 1981. Stations along each section were located 5 nautical miles apart to resolve the expected spatial scales. Conductivity/Temperature/Depth (CTD) casts and Niskin bottle samples for oxygen, nutrient, and chlorophyll analyses were obtained at each station.