Proposal Number: 1019033 Institution: San Jose State University, Moss Landing Marine Labs PI: S. Lamerdin Co-PI: K. Coale
The proposal requests three Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment (SSSE) items for the San Jose State University, Moss Landing Marine Labs (MLML) for use aboard the R/V POINT SUR; namely a new depth sounding/electronic charting system, hydraulic system integration, and an over-boarding block. All items will either enhance safety, bring the vessel into compliance with current standards, or provide greatly improved support capabilities to science.
Broader Impacts: The R/V POINT SUR supports federally funded scientific research in the Pacific Northwest 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 the State?s Center for Integrative Coastal Observation, Research and Education program (CI-CORE) and the Alliance for Coastal Technologies program (ACT), real-time satellite connectivity from ship to shore, and open house events. The POINT SUR is scheduled to complete over 100 NSF sponsored days in 2010.
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/Marine Operations Oceanographic Research Vessel Point Sur This project provided equipment to enhance the operational capabilities of the National Science Foundation owned 135 foot, Oceanographic Research Vessel Point Sur that is operated by the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. A total of $68,000 was awarded to Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/Marine Operations to purchase the following equipment: replacement for bridge echosounder, 0.680 over-boarding block, and hydraulic system integration. At the time of this submission, all equipment and services associated with this award have been completed including a new overboarding block. Due to changing demands among the scientific community, we purchased a block to accommodate a standard 3 x 19 wire instead of the .680 wire. The bridge echosounder was installed earlier in 2011 and is working well. The bridge crew has reported consistent soundings at depths in excess of 2800 meters. We have also been successful in integrating the echosounder signal into the navigation screens located at either of the bridge control stations. The bridge officers have been able to take advantage of this feature while entering ports as well as while on sampling stations. Similar to the bridge echosounder, the integration of the ship’s hydraulics was completed in 2011 with the few technical bugs worked out, this unit has been operating well. The system integrator had been called to the vessel once in 2012 to evaluate a slight "creeping" in one of the winches that was thought to be attributed to the vessel’s hydraulic system. Ultimately, the fix was attributed to a specific aspect of a hydraulic pump and not the system itself. At the time of this submission, the hydraulic systems on the vessel are functioning as designed and without issue. Due to efficient spending practices, we were able to complete the upgrades for less funds than anticipated.
