The Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island will acquire several items of oceanographic instrumentation to be placed in a pool of shared use equipment. This equipment is maintained for use on or in association with the R/V ENDEAVOR, a research vessel owned by the NSF and operated by the university. A substantial part of the ship's operating schedule during 1991 is in support of NSF-sponsored research projects. The instrumentation will also increase the capabilities of the ship and of the University to support research and engineering activities. The instrumentation includes: -Gyro repeater to display ship's heading in the main scientific laboratory, -High density computer tape drive for increasing shared-use, sea-going computing capabilities, -Rosette sampler adapter plates to improve the existing system's ability for collecting discrete seawater samples at specific water depths, -Niskin bottles for collecting discrete seawater samples at various depths in the water column, -Precision acoustic pingers for determining position of an instrument package relative to the surface or seafloor, -Upgrade for a precision salinometer used for the precision determination of seawater salinity, and -Temperature, conductivity, and wind sensors to augment routine data collection capabilities, and -Box Corer upgrade to allow collection of sediment and soil samples from the sea floor. The instrumentation described above will increase the capability of the University to support NSF-sponsored research and engineering projects.
