This award to University of Washington's School of Oceanography provides instrumentation to improve the oceanographic research capabilities of the research vessel Thompson, operated by UW as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research fleet. The specific items supported with this award include a set of key spare parts for the HiSeasNet shipboard communications system (modem, transceiver, antenna controller and master spares kit) to allow at-sea repairs and maintain Internet connectivity in the event of failures. It also includes a network switch for the shipboard computer network, which will allow addition of Voice-over-IP and wireless access points, and a network time server for the shipboard network, providing an independent time standard for all shipboard systems. These improvements will be of substantial advantage to marine scientists using the ship in their research during 2006 and future years. ***
