Duke University proposes to support technical services on R/V Cape Hatteras, a 135? general purpose UNOLS research vessel operated by the Duke/UNC Consortium as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research fleet. They request support for basic services only. They will provide one technician on each seagoing research project of R/V Cape Hatteras to support seagoing research projects and to maintain, calibrate and provide for qualified users items from their pool of shared-use research instrumentation. The budget in this proposal is for the first year of a 3-year continuing grant.
The Cape Hatteras has a length of 135 ft., a beam of 32 ft., a depth of 13.5 ft., and a normal draft of 9 ft., 2 in. with a range of 8-10 feet. The ship has a crew of 9 and can carry a scientific party of 14 (13 scientists and one marine technician). Her speed varies from 0.1 knots (on station) to 12.0 knots (transit), with a normal cruising speed of 10.5 knots. The Cape Hatteras has a range of 7000 nautical miles and endurance of 25 days at sea. The mission of the Cape Hatteras is to conduct basic oceanographic research. The majority of the cruises have been funded by NSF and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The Cape Hatteras has also been involved in a number of applied science cruises with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO), and the Department of Energy (DOE) as funding agencies. This award provided technical services for NSF-funded cruises on R/V Cape Hatteras for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. The total number of NSF-funded days at sea supported by this award was 303; the total number of days at sea for the vessel was 506. The marine technicians provided basic technical services for all cruises in 2009-2011. Basic services included at-sea and on-shore components. The on-shore component involved calibration, maintenance, and repair of instrumentation and equipment as well as staging, shipping, and preparation of instrumentation prior to cruises. The at-sea component of basic services included operation of science equipment, instruction of science team on use of ship’s equipment and safety procedures. The marine technicians on the R/V Cape Hatteras are responsible for all equipment in the Consortium’s equipment pool and assure that the equipment is operating properly. The marine technicians also serve as a liaison between the science party and the ship’s crew as well as assisting with repair and operation of any instrumentation brought by the science party, when possible. Almost all research cruises on the Cape Hatteras have an educational component, with graduate and undergraduate students receiving training and experience in a wide range of operations in oceanography. Besides the research cruises, the ship and its instrumentation are open for tours by high school and middle school students and Scouting groups. A tour of Cape Hatteras is an annual event for the Marine Biology classes at East Carteret High School and for undergraduates taking courses at the Duke Marine Laboratory. Tours for the marine technical classes at Carteret Community College were also scheduled. Additional activities that had a broader impact from ship operations included the development of a website (www.rvcapehatteras.org) that provides information to ship users and to the public and the creation of a newsletter for D/UNCOC consortium members that communicates the activities of Cape Hatteras to a large group of scientists. A speaker series highlighting oceanography was planned in 2011 and will be initiated in 2012 and will include nine undergraduate institutions in the University of North Carolina System with large components of minority students. This series is being developed as a means of exposing students to oceanographic research and recruiting minorities into the field. The PI has been involved in promoting environmental sustainability of the Cape Hatteras and other academic research vessels. A life cycle analysis of the use of biofuels for Cape Hatteras was carried out by three groups of Duke graduate students, following a biofuel experiment carried our earlier by the Chief Engineer and Marine Superintendent. Plastic beverage containers were removed from the ship and the staff and crew are exploring other approaches to creating a greener environment on the ship. The PI was also involved with a UNOLS -sponsored green workshop to focus on environmental sustainability of the UNOLS, NOAA, and Navy fleets, which was held at Duke in January 2012. He has also worked to initiate a UNOLS-sponsored minority outreach speaker series, which is currently in process.
