Meeting Announcement
Hello Schedulers:
The first of the two annual scheduling meetings will be held at NSF on 17 June. As was the case last year, this will be a review meeting which will be attended by the Ship Scheduling Committee Chair (Moller) and the co-Chair (Hinton), the UNOLS Chairman (Ken Johnson), the UNOLS Executive Secretary (Jack Bash), and representatives from the funding agencies (NSF, NOAA, ONR, NAVO plus interested Science Program Managers).
The results of the NSF May panel review should be available, at least in a preliminary form. These will provide a realistic idea of the number of science programs, their geographic location and the number of days we need to support in 1998. Schedules will be reviewed with the aim of assuring the overall science requirements are met consistent with the most cost effective operation of the fleet. A preliminary report of the meeting and its recommendations will be provided by email.
It is time to get our proposed/tentative 1998 schedules published and into the system so they are available for review and discussion. The agencies feel it is important that "best shot" preliminary schedules be provided by JUNE 10. Please email the schedules to "unols@gso.uri.edu". The UNOLS Office is prepared to post them on the OCEANIC BBS as soon as received. Multiple schedule options are discouraged. Jack Bash will post only one on OCEANIC.
Other information is also required. We request the following be provided to the UNOLS Office:
1) All 831 ship time requests you hold should be included in the central inventory kept by the UNOLS office. If you already haven't done so, please forward all requests to the UNOLS Office so that there is a single complete file for all 1998 programs.
2) Proposed 1998 cruise tracks for all the large vessels and vessels NOT operating in their local regions should be FAXed to the UNOLS Office. - - - The new UNOLS Office FAX # is: (401) 874-6167. - - -
3) Update your 1997 schedules and post them to the UNOLS Office.
Either Robert or I will attempt to talk to each of you before the June 17 meeting.
The UNOLS community has again been approached by NAVOCEANO and NOAA to schedule programs aboard the academic R/Vs that their own fleets are unable to accommodate. The introduction of these requests into the UNOLS system has been formalized by the Federal agencies and, hopefully, will continue in the future. Both agencies have posted electronic ship time request forms for the programs. Please give these potential cruises consideration.
It should be noted that NOAA's RON BROWN (AGOR-26) will be beginning its first full year of operation in 1998. Of significant importance to the schedulers is the intention to schedule RON BROWN within the UNOLS scheduling process.