From September to December, the NSFC Open Research Expedition in the central SCS (NORC2022-06) was conducted onboard the R/V TKK.
This expedition was split into two legs - the comprehensive biogeochemical leg and the geological and geophysical leg. Xin Liu and Yuan Shen from MEL served as chief scientists for each leg. The cruise supported 33 NSFC-funded projects carried by 68 scientists and researchers from 12 domestic institutions. On this expedition, 108 over-the-side operations were implemented onboard, including 59 CTD casts, 1 in situ LVPs, 19 gravity cores, 6 box cores, 2 heat flow probes, 3 benthic trawls, 1 rock trawl, and the operation of a deep-sea remotely operated platform.
