EK80 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During PC1805

The primary objective of this cruise was to conduct a dual team visual and acoustic line transect survey of oceanic waters of the US Gulf of Mexico. The survey was primarily conducted in waters 100 m and deeper, out to the US EEZ boundary in the Gulf of Mexico. Surveys were conducted along prescribed tracklines in a "double saw-tooth" configuration. A total of 7,480km of survey effort were planned, with tracklines being nominally spaced at 120km and oriented to be perpendicular to bathymetry in four defined strata. Secondary objectives included plankton sampling on leg 1 and active acoustic surveying during night hours, cetacean tissue biopsy sampling and the recovery and redeployment of a deep water autonomous acoustic recorder. The project commenced in Charleston, SC on 5 August 2018 and concluded in Pascagoula, MS on 7 October 2018.