RRS Discovery Cruise D340b : Dunstaffnage to Govan via Barra Head and the Surrounding Shelf 26th June to 4th July 2009

Sailing 14:00UTC on Thursday 25th from Dunstaffnage Point D340b was a 10 day Oceans2025 Theme 3 funded cruise. D340b followed on directly from D340a after a boat transfer at Dunstaffnage from SAMS laboratory on the Dunstaffnage peninsular.
The scientific aims for D340 Leg B were: 1) to study the physical response of tidal flows to topographic features of the shelf seas to the west of Scotland, in terms of stratification and turbulent mixing; 2) to study the consequent response of the water column chemistry and phytoplankton community structures; and 3) to study the benthic response of the hard coral reefs systems commonly found in this area. Zero downtime through either weather or ship-side equipment failure lead to a fully completed programme and a highly successful cruise.