This award to University of Minnesota Duluth provides support for the acquisition of an upgraded position and orientation system to be used on R/V Blue Heron, operated by the university's Large Lakes Observatory as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) research fleet. The position and vessel orientation instrumentation provides precise data on vessel motion, and it is essential to the operation of shipboard systems for both current measurements and lake bathymetry. This instrumentation provides important shared-use infrastructure for shipboard investigations of lacustrine processes in Lake Superior and the Great Lakes region. This acquisition should provide a substantial advantage to scientists using R/V Blue Heron in their research during 2007 and future years. ***
