University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System
Ocean Class
Science Mission Requirements
Revision: August 2007
University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System
(UNOLS)
Science Mission Requirements for Ocean Class Oceanographic
Research Vessels
These Science Mission Requirements (SMR) were developed as
part of the Academic Fleet Renewal effort outlined in the Federal Oceanographic
Facilities Committee (FOFC) report: Charting the Future for the National
Academic Research Fleet – A Long-Range Plan for Renewal published in December 2001. Funding for development of the SMR was provided to UNOLS
through NSF Co-operative agreement number OCE 9988593 and through ONR Grant
number N000140010742. Support and guidance for this project was provided by the
following agencies:
á National Science
Foundation Ð Division of Ocean Sciences
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á Office of Naval Research
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á National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
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á United States Geological
Survey
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á Minerals Management
Service
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á Department of Energy
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Preface – Ocean Class Research Vessel
Science Mission Requirements
The timely
replacement of the academic research fleet is vital to oceanographic research
in the United States. The ships age and become more expensive to operate and
they become less capable as scientific missions evolve. The Fleet Improvement
Committee has over the past few years presented to the community compelling
data showing that systematic replacement of the fleet must begin soon. If not,
we will be using old and possibly unsafe ships and certainly ships that are not
as capable as is needed.
The process used
to construct new ships is many faceted, but a fundamental action is the
formulation of the Science Mission Requirement: the SMR. The SMR states with as
much specificity as possible what attributes the ship must have to perform the
science envisioned. For example ÒWhat is the maximum sea state that a CTD cast
can be taken in?Ó or ÒIs a core storage freezer needed and how big should it
be?Ó The SMR provides a science capability framework for the steps between
community input, vessel concept design, and final construction. It is not meant
to serve as a final list of specifications, but as a list of science needs that
may face prioritization during the funding and construction phase for the Ocean
Class vessels.
This document
gives the best estimate of what the Science Mission Requirements are for an
Ocean Class Research Vessel. The document represents the work of over 70 people
over the past 12 months. A meeting was held in Salt Lake City on July 23 and
24, 2002. Later the draft SMR was posted for public comment. Finally the Fleet
Improvement Committee reviewed and finalized the document. The final document
is then submitted to the UNOLS Council for approval, which it has received.
Although Mission
Requirements and technology change with time this SMR represents a community
consensus of what an Ocean Class vessel should be capable of in the coming
years. This document should be considered a living document that should be
updated as new science requirements are identified and as new technical
solutions become available.
This SMR should
serve as the guiding document for concept designs, preliminary designs, and
construction of new Ocean Class Research Vessels.
Dr. Tim Cowles Dr.
Larry Atkinson, Chair
UNOLS Chair UNOLS
Fleet Improvement Committee
March 6, 2003 March
6, 2003
Executive summary
This new class of general
purpose research vessel, designed to support integrated, interdisciplinary
research, should have many of the capabilities of modern Global class vessels,
though Ocean class vessels will not be globally ranging. The primary
requirement is a maximum capability commensurate with ship size to support
science, educational, and engineering operations in all oceans, with improved
over-the-side equipment handling, station keeping, and acoustic system
performance while providing a stable laboratory environment for precision
measurements. These vessels should
be designed to be reliable, cost effective, and flexible.
These vessels will support
scientific (non-crew) parties as large as 25. Attention to the details of
habitability and the design of crew and technician berthing should promote crew
retention and the resulting expertise for supporting the scientific
missions. The vessel should
support expeditions up to 40 days and a total range up to 10,800 nautical miles
(20,000 km) at optimal transit speeds. The ship should be able to sustain 12
knots through sea state 4 with fine speed control. The vessel must have
effective dynamic positioning relative to a fixed position in a 35 knots wind,
sea state 5 and 2 knot current.
The design should maximize the
sea-kindliness of these vessels and maximize their ability to work in sea
states 5 and higher. It is
desirable for these vessels to operate 75% of the time in the winter in the Pacific
Northwest and in the North Atlantic. In sea state 4 the vessel should be fully
operational for all but the most demanding deployments and recoveries.
The stern working area, with a
minimum of 1,500 sq ft aft of deckhouses and total space equal to at least
2,000 sq ft, should be open and as clear as possible from one side of the ship
to the other and highly flexible to accommodate large and heavy temporary
equipment. In addition, a
contiguous work area along one side should provide a minimum of 80 ft clear
deck area along the rail. The area should be designed to provide a dry working
deck with provisions for allowing safe access for deployment and recovery of
free-floating equipment to and from the water.
Additional deck areas should be
provided with the means for flexible and effective installation of incubators,
vans, workboats and temporary equipment. There should be maximum visibility of
deck work areas and alongside during science operations and especially during
deployment and retrieval of equipment. Voice communications systems between the
bridge, labs, working decks and machinery spaces should be designed to
effectively enhance ship control during science operations.
The design of weight handling
appliances to safely and effectively deploy, recover, and sometimes tow a wide
variety of scientific equipment should be considered at the earliest stages of
the design cycle. The entire suite of over the side handling equipment
including winches, wires, cranes, frames, booms and other appliances should be
considered as a system. Designs for over the side appliances and equipment
should include innovative thinking and consider ideas that will reduce the
amount of human intervention necessary for launch and recovery of equipment,
both on wires and un-tethered, and that will control packages from the water to
the deck. This will enhance
personnel safety, reduce manning level requirements, increase operability in
heavier weather and protect science and ship's equipment. The winches should
provide fine control and have maximum speeds of at least 100 m/min. The ship
should be capable of towing large scientific packages continuously for extended
periods of time. A suite of modern
cranes should be provided to handle heavy and large equipment and that can
reach all working deck areas. The capability of offloading vans and equipment
weighing up to 20,000 lbs to a pier or vehicle in port is desirable.
Total lab space should be
approximately 2,000 sq ft including: Main (dry) lab area designed to be
flexible for frequent subdivision providing smaller specialized labs; separate
wet lab/hydro lab located contiguous to sampling areas; climate controlled work
space or chamber and an electronics/computer lab. A high bay/hanger space for multiple purposes adjacent to
the aft main deck should support protected set up and repair of equipment,
sample sorting and other related functions. Flexibility and support for
different types of science operations within limited space are the important
design criteria for these vessels. Benches and cabinetry should be flexible and
reconfigurable. A separate
electronics repair shop/work space for resident technicians should be included.
Storage space for resident technician spares and tools should be defined in the
design and not part of useable laboratory space. There should be some provision
of dedicated storage/ workshop space for science and ship use. There should be accessible safe storage
for chemical reagents and hazardous (non-radioactive) materials.
Lab areas need to have separate
electrical circuits on a clean bus with un-interruptible power available
wherever needed. Seawater systems should be designed to provide uncontaminated
seawater to all science work areas and higher volume seawater to maintain
incubation experiments at ambient surface temperatures. The best available
navigation systems will be provided for geo-referencing of all data, for
dynamic positioning and ship control as part of an integrated information
system. Internal and external
communications systems will provide high-quality voice communications and
continuous high-speed data communications throughout the ship and with shore
stations, other ships, aircraft, and data sources.
Space should be available to
carry two standardized 8 ft by 20 ft portable deck vans that may be laboratory,
berthing, storage, or other specialized use and up to two additional portable,
possibly non-standard size, vans on superstructure and working decks is
required. At least one 16-ft or larger inflatable boat located for ease of
launching and recovery is also required. The variable science load should be
between 100 and 200 LT.
The ship should be as
acoustically quiet as practicable in the choice of all shipboard systems, their
location, and installation.
Propeller(s) are to be designed for minimal cavitation, and hull form
should attempt to minimize bubble sweep down. Design criteria for noise reduction should take into
account reducing radiated noise into the water that may affect biological
research objectives, acoustic system performance and habitability.
Heating, ventilation, air
conditioning and lighting appropriate to berthing, laboratories, vans, and
other interior spaces being served should be carefully engineered and designed
to be effective in all potential operating areas.
A
thorough evaluation of construction costs, outfitting costs, annual operating
costs and long-term maintenance costs should be conducted during the design
cycle in order to determine the impact of design features on the total life
cycle cost. The design should
ensure that the vessel could be effectively and safely operated in support of
science by a well-trained but relatively small number of crew. The regional
conditions, available ports and shore side services should be considered during
the design process.
