R/V Sproul will be operating along the West Coast of the United States during 2012, in and out of San Diego. NSF-funded scientific objectives supported by cruises on R/V Sproul in 2012 include: Marine Geology and Geophysics in support of the Pacific OBSIP Facility; Biological Oceanography is support of the California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research project, and Zooplankton at the Base of the Particle Maximum; and, Instrumentation development in support of Development of a Next Generation Subseabed Pore Pressure Instrument for Marine Hydrogeology, Development and deployment of a swarm of mini-floats for studying coastal physical and biological dynamics, Developing and Improving Scripps Shallow Water Mapping Capability, A portable platform for GPS-Acoustic measuremets of seafloor motion, and Development of an autonomously deployed deep ocean seismic system.
R/V Sproul is well suited to support these programs in terms of equipment and crew experience. This proposal represents year one of a five year renewed cooperative agreement. The amount of the award in out-years on this agreement will be negotiated yearly, and is dependent on the number of days at sea in support of NSF funded research programs. Scripps Institution of Oceanography executed the previous cooperative agreement (0505771) very well, meeting all requirements for performance and reporting.
Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of the proposed work is indirect. It derives from the intellectual merit of the individual research projects that depend upon the shipboard work at sea. NSF-funded scientific investigations for 2012 operations include: marine geology; seismic hazard studies; climate observations; and instrumentation development.
Broader Impacts: The mission of R/V Sproul includes the provision of educational opportunities both to students of the marine sciences, and, through educational outreach. R/V Sproul operations also contribute significantly to a wide diversity of scientific disciplines, the data from which benefit oceanographic research beyond those studies directly funded to participate in cruises.
