EASTROPAC - "A Cooperative Effort Towards Understanding of the Oceanography of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean" - was an international cooperative investigation of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The stated goals were to provide data necessary for a more efficient use of the marine resources of the area, especially tropical tunas, and also to increase knowledge of the ocean circulation, air-sea interaction, and ecology of the region. The U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (now National Marine Fisheries Service) was the coordinating agency. Participating scientists were primarily from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

     The field work, from February 1967 through March 1968, was divided into seven 2-month cruise periods (Figure 1). There were three general classes of ships taking part in the field operations: the principal participating ships, all operated by U.S. organizations; Latin American cooperating ships; and ships of opportunity (Table 1).
    
      At a meeting of the EASTROPAC coordinating committee held in April 1968, it was decided that the data collected on the cruises were so numerous that classical data reports would be impractical and that a comprehensive atlas of the physical and biological results of the project should be produced instead. The atlas was divided into 11 volumes, with five volumes containing physical oceanographic and meteorological data from the principal participating ships, and five volumes containing biological and nutrient chemistry data from the same ships. Volume 11 contains all data from the Latin American cooperating ships and ships of opportunity.

Background material from the Atlas:

Digital scans (200 dpi) of each page of the eleven EASTROPAC Atlas volumes:

  • Volume 1. Physical oceanographic and meteorological data from principal participating ships, first survey cruise, February-March 1967
  • Volume 2. Biological and nutrient chemistry data from principal participating ships, first survey cruise, February-March 1967
  • Volume 3. Physical oceanographic and meteorological data from principal participating ships, first and second monitor cruises, April-July 1967
  • Volume 4. Biological and nutrient chemistry data from principal participating ships, first and second monitor cruises, April-July 1967
  • Volume 5. Physical oceanographic and meteorological data from principal participating ships, second survey cruise, August-September 1967
  • Volume 6. Biological and nutrient chemistry data from principal participating ships, second survey cruise, August-September 1967
  • Volume 7. Physical oceanographic and meteorological data from principal participating ships and Oceanographer, third and fourth monitor cruises, October 1967-January 1968
  • Volume 8. Biological and nutrient chemistry data from principal participating ships and Oceanographer, third and fourth monitor cruises, October 1967-January 1968
  • Volume 9. Physical oceanographic and meteorological data from principal participating ships, third survey cruise, February-March 1968
  • Volume 10. Biological and nutrient chemistry data from principal participating ships, third survey cruise, February-March 1968
  • Volume 11. Data from Latin American cooperating ships and ships of opportunity, all cruises, February 1967-March 1968
EASTROPAC Metadata document - complete listing of EASTROPAC expeditions and data (PDF)

EASTROPAC Bibliography - publications based on EASTROPAC data or samples

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Last modified 26 Feb 2008, Paul.Fiedler@noaa.gov