Appendix I

Meeting Announcement

5/15/98
Hello schedulers:

T'he first of the two annual scheduling meetings is nearly upon us.  The first meeting will be at NSF on 23 June.  This will be a review of the preliminary 1999 schedules filed by the UNOLS operators.  The Ship Scheduling Committee Chair and the co-Chair, the UNOLS Chairman, the UNOLS Executive Sectry, and representatives from the funding agencies (NSF, NOAA, ONR plus interested Science Progrwn Managers) will be in attendance.  It is anticipated that results of the NSF May panel will be available in 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 1999.  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 report of the meeting and its recommendations will be provided by email.

It is time to get our proposed/tentative 1999 schedules published and into the system so they are available for review and discussion.  The agencies feel it is important that the schedules be available to them relatively soon.  Please email the schedules to "unols@gsosunl.gso.uri.edu". The UNOLS Office is prepared to post them on the OCEANIC BBS as soon as received.  Multiple schedules are discouraged although options could be imbedded in the first cut.  Jack Bash will post only one schedule on OCEANIC.

Other information is also required.  We request the following:

1. All 831 ship time requests you hold that do not appear on the UNOLS Office summary should be sent to the UNOLS Office so that there is a single complete file for all 1999 programs.
2. Please submit your 1999 cost estimates, based on the proposed schedules, to the UNOLS office.
3. FAX (401) 874-6167 or mail a copy of your proposed 1999 cruise tracks to the UNOLS office. (Not necessary for RNs that will operate locally or regionally.)
4. Update your 1998 schedules and post them to the UNOLS Office.

We, as a community, have been very responsive to NavOceano and NOAA agency shiptime requests in the past 2 years.  The performance of the UNOLS ships/techs in collecting the required data has been superb and efficient.  The UNOLS operators will once again be requested to run NavOceano and NOAA programs during 1999.  Collectively we should factor these into our schedules.  NOAA's requests have been submitted electronically (most under the name Bullock).  NavOceano is now in the process of developing their requirements.

NOAA's RON BROWN (AGOR-26) will now be incorporated into the UNOLS scheduling process for 1999 following the signing of the formal cooperative agreement between UNOLS and NOAA last fall.

Finally, as you should all be aware, Robert Hinton has left his position at U.Washington and hence resigned his seat as co-Chair of SSC.  Ken Johnson has polled the schedulers for selection a replacement.  Ken will announce his appointment very soon.

I will attempt to talk to each of you before the June 23 meeting.

Regards,
Don Moller