Proposal Number: 0912161 Institution: Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) PI: J. Malbrough Co-PI: D. Guidry
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The proposal requests numerous Shipboard Scientific Support (SSSE) items for the vessel operated by Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON); namely the R/V PELICAN. The requests specifically include items that have been recommended from past NSF inspections, or Post-Cruise Assessments (PCA's) and have been otherwise deferred by the operators due to cost. All of the items requested will either improve safety, enhance science support capability, or extend vessel service life. Due to the nature and timing of these requests, the vendor quotation standards normally required by the SSSE Program were waived out of necessity with many of the figures provided as estimates for budgetary purposes and based mainly on past experience of the vessel operators for similar work.
Broader Impacts: The R/V PELICAN supports federally funded scientific research in the Gulf of Mexico in order to expand human knowledge of the ocean environment. During operations, the vessel routinely exposes graduate and undergraduate students to seagoing oceanography. Pubic outreach is also achieved through real-time satellite connectivity from ship to shore, open house events, educational cruises, and involvement in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center which is an intern-based training program for marine technicians. The PELICAN is scheduled to complete approximately 50 NSF sponsored days in 2009.
