The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SKIO) is awarded funding to continue operations of research vessel Savannah in support NSF-funded scientific research within Georgia's coastal and ocean waters in the year 2012. For 2012, R/V Savannah plans to operate 168 days, of which 99 days are in support of NSF peer-reviewed sea-going science. This is a five-year cooperative agreement, and funding for the years 2013-2016 will be re-negotiated and evaluated based on the number of days in service of NSF funded research. R/V Savannah is operated as a University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) ship, and as such follows UNOLS safety standards and NSF inspection requirements.
Intellectual and Technical Merit:
R/V Savannah is a 92-foot coastal research vessel, which was delivered from Washburn and Doughty shipbuilders in September 2001. This ship is one of the most capable platforms for conducting oceanographic research and education activities in the continental shelf, estuarine, and riverine environments of the Southeastern U.S. The vessel has been used to examine rates of benthic primary production on the West Florida Shelf and South Atlantic Bight, to assess microbial diversity in environments ranging from coastal estuaries to the Gulf Stream, to examine the biogeochemical dynamics within the Long Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) study sites and to develop a regional coastal observing system. In addition, the Savannah has been and will be used for a multibeam survey of the Savannah River. The deck space, a large hydraulic A-frame, which maximizes the cable bend radius necessary to deploy acoustic packages, and generally quiet vessel operations make this vessel ideal for these kinds of projects. R/V Savannahs design capacity to sleep 19 scientists plus crew enables the ship to accommodate large science parties for it's size.
