Proposal Number: 1012444 Institution: Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences PI: N. Bates Co-PI: R. Harelstad
The proposal requests two Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment (SSSE) items for the R/V ATLANTIC EXPLORER operated by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS); namely closed circuit TV up-grades and a new RADAR. The items requested will either improve safety or enhance the vessel?s science support capability.
Broader Impacts: The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences vessel supports federally funded scientific research throughout the Atlantic basin to expand human knowledge of the ocean environment. The ATLANITC EXPLORER is the vessel that also routinely services the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) stations. During operations, the vessel routinely exposes graduate and undergraduate students to seagoing oceanography through real-time satellite connectivity from ship to shore, and open house events. All told, the ATLANTIC EXPLORER is scheduled to complete nearly 140 NSF sponsored days in 2010.
I. Project Activities and Findings: a) Research Shipboard Scientific Support awards for the R/V Atlantic Explorer provide the tools and equipment required to support scientific research and technology development which improves scientific knowledge of societal relevant environmental issues. Many of the major research projects that have used these vessels are oceanographic time-series efforts (www.bios.edu/research/time_series.html). For example, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) is an oceanographic time-series project funded by NSF. The BATS program, begun in 1988, is now in its 24rd year and focuses on low frequency variability of the ocean (www.bios.edu/research/bats.html) over annual to decadal timescales. This is a truly unique program and our understanding of the Sargasso Sea ecosystem is continually improving due to this research. Time-series measurements are a major focus of U.S. and international ocean science research plans and ocean-observing networks supported by NSF. The two NSF-funded stations (Bermuda and Hawaii) are central to national and international plans for a network of ocean time-series stations and are being used as models for time-series research efforts by others. In addition, these two sites are important training and testing grounds for both the national and international efforts to study biogeochemical cycles in the ocean. The Hydrostation "S" sampling program has been conducted at roughly biweekly intervals (with 26 R/V Atlantic Explorer ship days in 2012) for the past 55 years (www.bios.edu/research/hydrostation.html). This is the longest continuously running ocean time-series program in the world. This long-term record has proved to be immensely valuable, showing a clear increase in sub-surface temperatures of nearly 1°C over the past half century. Vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and oxygen are available for the entire period; the data from the first 30 years are available at the BIOS website (www.bios.edu). Researchers studying global change, upper-ocean geochemistry and, particularly, physical and chemical models of the time-course evolution of the upper ocean routinely rely on the Hydrostation "S" data to calibrate their models. Another important time series program in the waters near Bermuda is the Ocean Flux Program, which measures the sinking flux of particles at several depths below 500 m, has been ongoing for three decades (http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/conte/ofp/). In conjunction with the surface tethered particle interceptor traps (PITS) that are deployed monthly at BATS, this is a one of a kind dataset on particle fluxes in the Sargasso Sea. These major time-series programs have spawned numerous ancillary research projects and process-oriented studies in the past and this number looks to grow substantially in the future. Since the R/V Atlantic Explorer took over servicing these time-series programs in April of 2006, there has been a steady increase in the number of requests for berths on the core BATS cruises and other process cruises in the region. This, in a very positive sense, has increased the demand for improved and upgraded ship equipment and instrumentation. b) Education The R/V Atlantic Explorer operations are important contributors to education, training and public outreach. Given the proximity of Hydrostation "S" and BATS to Bermuda, these cruises serve an important educational role in training future generations of potential oceanographers. At a time when fewer and fewer new scientists are going to sea, the importance of recruiting these new scientists and providing sea-going training experience is critical. The R/V Atlantic Explorer also contains the only classroom in the UNOLS fleet that has been designed primarily for undergraduate education. II. Justification and Cost NSF Award #10124444, in the amount of $43,500 was used for the purchase of the following equipment: 1) Deck Equipment: CCTV system upgrades ($12,500) The addition of the CCTV system to the R/V Atlantic Explorer in 2007 has been a very useful tool for both security and monitoring of operations and safety from the bridge. The system is networked and can be viewed from any computer on our network. The new upgrades included additional cameras to expand the coverage for many areas not included in the original configuration. 2) Navigation Equipment: Radar ($31,000) We replaced the old secondary radar that was originally installed on R/V Weatherbird II. For safety, the back-up radar needed to have the same level of performance as the primary set, and be capable of interconnection to the other wheelhouse navigation electronics. The system is a Black-Box type of system and takes up minimum space in the wheel house. III. Broader Impacts: The principal impact of this award is providing infrastructure support for scientists to use the vessel in support of their NSF-funded oceanographic research projects (which individually undergo separate review by the relevant research program of NSF). The acquisition, maintenance and operation of state of the art navigation and ship security equipment is essential to the safe operation of the vessel.
