Project title – Marine Mammal Exploration of the Oceans – Pole to Pole (MEOP)

Project web site - http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/seaos/index.html#,

http://npweb.npolar.no/english/projects_and_programs/

Activity leader(s) (name, affiliation, email address) – Kit Kovacs, Norwegian Polar

Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, kit.kovacs@npolar.no

Project goals (1-2 sentences) - MEOP will deploy novel but field-proven satellite-linked animal-borne CTD-tags that will provide accurate data on the location of tagged animals, their detailed dive patterns and the temperature and salinity profiles of the water columns they utilize. The project will provide important new information about the interactions between top-trophic animals and the physical environment from both Polar Regions.

Geographic focus – Arctic, North Atlantic, and Southern Oceans

Taxonomic focus – Marine mammals

Countries involved in activity – Norway, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United States

Expedition dates and vessels – Ship and helicopter needed, 03/07 to 08/07, 11/07 to 11/08

IPY Activity #77