Mt. Mitchell Cruise was conducted in the wake of the large Regional disturbance that occurred during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in1990-91. This Cruise was a landmark expedition in many ways and was the first collective effort that gave rise to a series of Cruises later. The 100-days expedition that occurred between February and June 1992 focused the attention of many of the world’s marine scientists on the environmental aftermath of the War. It was an extraordinary undertaking, involving the combined efforts of hundreds of Regional and International researchers in the ROPME Region.

Beside the standard oceanographic investigations, the Cruise involved a broad range of other specific investigations including the assessment of impact of oil spills in off and near shore environments, Regional circulation and sedimentation of spilled oils on coral reefs and seafood quality.

It is believed that the all objectives of Mt. Mitchell mission were accomplished. However the full significance of it may not be known for some time.

The first findings and scientific results from the expedition had been presented during an international Workshop held in the State of Kuwait in January 1993.The full scientific outcome of this expedition has been published in a special issue of Marine Pollution Bulletin, no….(1995)
One important contribution of the Mt. Mitchell Cruise was the establishment of 106 reference sampling sites, widely distributed in the ROPME Sea Area, which were meticulously followed in all the later Cruises as well.

Surveyed Stations During Umitaka-Maru Cruises

These three short Cruises of 12 days each were planned and conducted under the umbrella of ROPME, UNEP and IOC for the implementation of an Integrated Action Plan for the RSA to assess the impact of War and to improve knowledge on relevant Regional environmental factors.

The oceanographic programme of the Cruises included:

The scientific results from these cruises have been presented in an International Symposium , held in the State of Kuwait in Dec.1995 and published in a book in 1998 entitled : Offshore Environment of ROPME Sea Area after the War- Related oil Spill.

3- ROPME Summer 2000 Oceanographic  Cruise Date : 14 Aug - 4 Sept. 2000 (N.RSA) Vessel : T/V Ghods - I.R.Iran Sponsors : ROPME and DOE (I. R. Iran)Objectives: Assessment of main prevailing physical, chemical, biological and bottom sediment features in Northern RSA during summer season
This Cruise was organized for the continuous monitoring and assessment of the obvious degradation in the marine environment of the RSA following to the War represented by and the observed catastrophic fish kill incident of September-October 1999 in Kuwaiti and Iranian waters. The scientific plan of the Cruise included also the assessment of ecological consequences from the drainage of Marshlands of Mesopotamia in Iraq. However, the Cruise activity was confined to the Iranian waters up to the median line of Inner RSA including Strait of Hormuz, Shatt Al- Arab and Kuwaiti waters.  Different marine samples were collected and studies included the assessment of biodiversity, hydrography, physio-chemical analysis, contaminants in surface and core sediments and radioactivity. The results from this cruise were presented in Regional Meeting of experts and published in technical reports.

Since the investigation and planned studies for the whole RSA during summer season couldn’t be achieved during summer 2000 Cruise, it was decided to organize this cruise during the following summer of 2001.
Along 15 transects, 83 stations were monitored and sampled as required in the Cruise scientific plan. Because of special circumstances, the Outer RSA stations in the Sea of Oman couldn’t be sampled.
Besides the measurements of hydrological and meteorological parameters along the Cruise track, water and sediment samples were collected for:

The collected samples were distributed among specialized laboratories in the Region for analysis. It is planned to publish the results by ROPME Secretariat in a series technical reports.

About 5000 of water, sediment and biological samples were collected during the Cruise as required by the scientific plan for carrying out analysis and investigations relevant to different disciplines. Type and total number of collected samples are grouped leg wise in the following table:

One of principal objectives of the Cruise was to extend opportunity for conducting the analysis of collected samples among specialized National Research Institutions in the Region. Towards this, a series of proficiency were conducted between willing laboratories to designate the most proficient laboratory to conduct samples analysis in each discipline.
Subsequently, ROPME Secretariat received the following final reports on the analytical and investigation results of each discipline:

Recently, the Regional Cruise Task Force held a meeting with the following objectives :

The Task Force recommended to organize an International Conference to present the ROPME winter 2006 Cruise along with previous ROPME Cruises and any other oceanographic activities in the RSA. Tentatively, it is planned to hold this conference in one of the ROPME Member States during mid 2011.