University of Rhode Island proposes to support technical services on R/V Endeavor, a 184? general purpose research vessel operated as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research fleet. The proposal requests support for basic services and specialized services. For basic services, they will provide one shipboard technician on each cruise of R/V Endeavor to support seagoing research projects and to maintain, calibrate and provide for qualified users items from their pool of shared-use research instrumentation.
The purpose of the grant, "Oceanographic Technical Services, 2009 - 2011, RV Endeavor", was to fund technician support for scientific cruises on board the Endeavor. Endeavor is an intermediate class, general purpose, ocean-going research ship. The ship operates throughout the Atlantic Ocean, including peripheral seas such as the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico. The ship always carries at least one URI/GSO marine technician when it goes to sea. The marine technician's duties include overseeing and managing voice and data communications between the ship and shore; managing an array of shipboard meteorological, oceanographic, and navigational data collection systems; and assisting the scientific parties with their cruise-specific programs. During the three years of this grant, Endeavor spent 565 days at sea performing a wide range of scientific work. The ship sailed to the west African coast twice (2009 and 2010). Probably the most intense year was 2010, when in addition to crossing the South Atlantic Ocean to Africa the ship was directed by NSF on short notice to respond to the Haitian earthquake in February and a few months later was sent to the Gulf of Mexico as part of the response to the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Endeavor was one of the first ships sent to the scene specifically to collect samples that would help document the extent of damage to the Gulf ecosystem. It was a grueling cruise, working within sight of the blazing drill site and amongst many other vessels that were either recovering oil or working to stop the flow of oil. Endeavor returned to the Gulf in 2011 to continue scientific study of the spill and its impacts on the ecosystem. (That work continues this year, as Endeavor is once again spending several months working in the Gulf of Mexico.) GSO's marine technicians played a key role in the success of all these cruises.
