DRAFT MINUTES OF AICC MEETING
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
24-25 January 2002
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Meeting called at 0830 with introductory
remarks by Dr. Lisa Clough, AICC Chair
- The host for the meeting Captain Dan Schwartz introduced
Dr. Russ McDuff who welcomed the participants to UW
- Dan covered logistics for the meeting
- Introductions were made around the room
- Lisa reviewed the agenda - appendix I
- List of attendees is attached as appendix II
- Minutes from the September, 2001 and AGU Town Hall
meetings were approved
AICC Chair Report (Lisa Clough)
- Reviewed actions items from 9/01 meeting with some
items completed and some still to do. 27 action items total.
- 7 have been completed
- 3 are not applicable to 2002 since there will not
be any SOO cruises, however the wording regarding future SOO cruises will
need to be updated to the current reality.
- 7 items need clarification
- Formal letter to NOAA re: scheduling. This has
been acknowledged by Captain McClean, head of NOAA's Ocean Exploration
program, however a letter stating the funding decision time lines of other
agencies and for making scheduling decisions was still considered useful.
Add this to the To Do list.
- Multi-National Meeting. No action for AICC, information
on this effort will be provided as it is available from Tom Pyle of NSF
- SeaBeam transducer survey - recommendation to
do this still stands, however it will most likely not be scheduled until
the 2004 dry-docking.
- CTD/winch controller and sheave alignment - this
issue will be revisited by the SBI pre-cruise planning process.
- Replacement of 9/16 inch wire - scheduled for
Feb. 20, 2002
- .680 wire test - this was done by CG and outside
contractor (Interocean) - recommend that documentation of the test procedures
and results be kept available on board the ship in the wire record.
- Coast Guard can use help with sole source justifications
or careful definition of equipment specifications for some science equipment
purchases - this is an ongoing requirement and will be requested when
specifically needed.
- 4 items in progress
- Clearance issues, in particular with Russia and
with regard to Native American concerns will be addressed at the September
meeting when State Department can be involved.
- All Federal agencies with requested work should
be involved with scheduling meetings.
- Science seawater system and incubations to be
discussed later this meeting.
- High Latitude communications to be discussed later
this meeting.
- 6 Items on the current "to do list"
- Formal recommendations from AICC need to be developed
and made for:
- Underway Seabeam data collection
- SDN/Computer technical support
- Web/Planning
- Add scheduling information to AICC website including
Simon's procedure description for scheduling.
- Include Data Policies in the Cruise planning
manual
- International issues related to work in coastal
zones on AMORE
- Add information regarding clearances to cruise
planning manual
UNOLS Report (Mike Prince)
- Reviewed Fleet Renewal Plan (10 ships in next decade)
which was published late last year by the Federal Oceanographic Facilities
Committee (FOFC) and accepted by the agency heads as the road map for replacing
aging ships in the academic fleet. Next steps involve implementation (funding)
of the renewal plan. UNOLS role is mostly involved in providing community
input into the design of the new vessels and promoting their funding and
construction. The first ship in the plan is the KILO MOANA (AGOR 26) which
has been launched and will be delivered to the University of Hawaii later
this year. This vessel is a Small Waterplane Area Twin-Hull (SWATH) which
will be evaluated closely to see if this design will be appropriate for
future R/Vs. The design process for the next vessel in the plan, a replacement
for the R/V ALPHA HELIX, is well underway. The concept design for the Alaska
Regional Research Vessel (ARRV) has been completed and describes an ice
capable (A1 class) vessel that can operate in the Being Sea year round.
A poster showing the basic design features of this vessel is available on
the UNOLS (FIC) web page.
- UNOLS is involved in getting community input on
the needs for new wires and cables in the standard UNOLS wire pool. The
immediate focus is on a higher bandwidth cable in the size range for towed
undulating profilers and CTDs.
- The Post Cruise assessment form and process are
being reviewed and updated by a UNOLS committee.
- The RVTEC is working with NSF program manager to
develop a set of standards and an inventory of basic technical support and
shared use science equipment on UNOLS vessels. Coast Guard Icebreakers will
probably want to establish similar guidelines for their cruise planning
manuals.
- The DESSC has been considering upgrades and overhaul
of deep submergence facilities. Of mutual interest to both DESSC and AICC
is the request to utilize larger ROVs such as JASON from the HEALY.
- The UNOLS Council and Fleet Improvement Committee
will be holding a joint meeting in Jacksonville, Florida on February 26
- 28 during which they will tour the KILO MOANA and the major subject of
discussion will be the implementation of the Fleet Renewal Plan.
NSF Report (Simon Stephenson)
- NSF received about 8% increase as a whole, OPP
may get as much as 9% and Simon may get 10% primarily to operate the HEALY.
- Simon mentioned that they are very pleased with
the operation of HEALY. Both of the first year cruises were very complicated
and challenging, but were completed very successfully. There have been many
lessons learned from the first year. They are pleased with the formal debriefs
and the lead that AICC has taken.
- AICC's role is fundamentally to make the Coast
Guard and the funding agencies look smarter by providing the scientific
expertise needed to make good decisions.
- Projects are driving the funding decisions. It
is NSF's, Coast Guard's and the Chief Scientist's responsibility to make
things work. AICC's role is to make recommendations. Should be careful to
make sure that action items are clearly the role of the AICC. If it is the
role of an agency or the Coast Guard these should be made as a recommendation.
Lisa mentioned that the plan is for the AICC to put forth a formal letter
of recommendations and the action item list will be for UNOLS and AICC members.
NOAA Report (Kathy Crane)
- Described Arctic Exploration Program. NOAA received
$14M for Ocean Exploration and they have a verbal commitment that $1.5M
in FY02 can be used for the Arctic. They will probably use the Canadian
icebreaker, LOUIS ST LAURENT in Canada Basin for about three weeks.
- NOAA will host a meeting at Ocean Sciences on 12
Feb concerning international cooperation in Arctic research.
- Need to have the formal US-Russian agreement regarding
Ocean Science renewed. The process of getting this signed has lapsed lately
and they will attempt to create a draft while in Hawaii that could lead
to signing a renewed agreement this summer.
- Consideration is being given to declaring 2007
an "International Polar Year"
ARVOC Report (Bill Detrich)
- Very heavy ice in Antarctica this year in part
due to the presence of a very large iceberg trapping the ice. Palmer was
beset for a significant period of time.
- Palmer's lease was renewed for another 6 years.
- Both Palmer and Gould will go into shipyard in
Chile this year.
- Palmer work:
- SeaBeam will be replaced this year with a Simrad
120 system
- Uncontaminated Seawater system will be completely
redone
- -25 Freezer and laboratory system
- Labs will be renovated.
- Re-cable the LAN so that there will be two separate
systems
- Redo underway seawater flow-through system
- RM Young Met system.
- Upgrade MGG air gun system
- Replacing Bathy 2000 with a Bathy W system
- New 1200m MCS Steamer
- New UV (PUV/GUV) monitoring system.
- LMG work:
- Winches and Wires , new 680 coax, new 1/2 wire
- New DUSH 6 winch and Mooring system winch
- New UV (PUV/GUV) monitoring system.
- WHOI's role is that of specialized equipment consultant
to Raytheon Polar Services in areas such as MOCNESS, Moorings and others.
- ARVOC met last October and a couple of items were
covered in executive session of interest to AICC.
- ARVOC would like to add oversight of OPP funded
projects scheduled on Coast Guard Icebreakers to their charter. This will
lead to the need for more interaction and coordination with AICC. It is
assumed that the ARVOC will be primarily concerned with operations in
the Antarctic and Southern Oceans and AICC with the Arctic, however there
would be issues such as equipment, outfitting and scheduling conflicts
that would be of mutual interest. The item from their minutes is quoted
below.
- RPSC and NSF's advice will be requested on the
advisability of adding projects on US Coast Guard Icebreakers funded
by OPP to ARVOC oversight. If the increasing use of the USCG Icebreakers
to perform science is a trend, there are multiple areas where the interaction
between the AICC and ARVOC could be strengthened. These areas include
shared-use equipment stored in Seattle, advice on how to best coordinate
RPSC and USCG contributions to logistical demands, and including out
briefs from those science projects in the out briefs received by ARVOC.
This item was discussed and approved for Charter Change.
- Bill Detrich has agreed to serve as the ARVOC
liaison to AICC. Jim Swift is currently the AICC liaison to ARVOC.
- A committee of visitors examination of Polar Programs
at NSF was concerned with the possibility that some projects were being
turned down due to a lack of assets. One factor is the fact that the vessels
in the Antarctic have several missions to perform including direct science
support. As an example, Hazmat transportation from Palmer station might
be cutting into available shiptime for other projects. ARVOC was interested
in seeing if ships of opportunity, such as the Coast Guard Icebreakers,
could be used for this transport work. This is not really an AICC issue,
but could become one if it impacts availability of assets for the Arctic.
Coast Guard Report (CDR Joe Bodenstedt)
- HEALY is in Seattle after their inaugural voyage
to the Eastern Arctic. They are scheduled for dry-docking in February and
will be loading for this summers Western Arctic cruises in April.
- Both POLAR's were working in Antarctica this year.
POLAR SEA was originally scheduled to support a search for the ENDURANCE,
but this was cancelled due to inadequate funding. However the presence of
the B-15 iceberg grounded near McMurdo is making ice clearing very difficult
and required the use of both POLARs. This has been demanding work with the
usual resulting casualties to the engineering plants. At the moment the
POLAR STAR is still available to support Arctic West work but this may change.
- May need two icebreakers next year if B-15 still
there and ice conditions warrant.
- Discussed role of AICC in post cruise debriefs.
The Coast Guard considers these to be very valuable and will continue them
whether or not the AICC continues them. They do feel that the involvement
of AICC adds to the benefit of these debriefs and hope that they continue
the effort. Both the face-to-face debrief for AMORE and the phone conference
debrief for ALTEX went well. The phone conference allowed the participation
of HEALY's CO and key officers.
- Dave Forcucci reported briefly on Pac Area activities.
LCDR April Brown is in the Antarctic with the POLARs. ENS Lance Tinsman
is assigned to the icebreaker officer for at least another year. Dave's
position in support of HEALY is in the process of being made a permanent
position.
2001 Science Ops Debriefs (Lisa Clough)
The following list of topics
was used in the debriefs (modified from Antarctic debrief questions)
1) How were communications
with PACAREA (Dave, April, and Phil) and the ship (CO, XO, MSO, MSTC or MST1)
before the cruise? Ways to improve?
2) Any environmental
or permitting areas that arose during the cruise? If yes, how smooth did the
process(es) go? From CG side, did the scientists follow procedures to obtain
clearances, permits etc. Suggested improvements?
3) Logistics/ Cargo-
Were the shipments on time? Were special handling requests met? (Frozen things
kept frozen, etc.)
4) Construction-
Was anything built or modified on board? How did that go? Damage Control/
scientist interactions?
5) Information Technology-
e-mail, computer, Inmarsat, radio support?
6) Laboratory operations-
scientific support for everything from operations to hazmat to familiarity
with equipment
7) Laboratory equipment-
comments on malfunctions, desires for upgrades, needed new equipment
i. SeaBeam specific questions:
A. How
much real-time watchstander effort was required?
B. How much ping editing was done in the post processing?
In
both cases, who provided the people (CG or scientists?); who was responsible
for training the people?
8) Diving support
9) Science technical
services- seawater systems, climate control rooms, winches, etc.
10) Small boat ops
11) Helo ops
12) Food service
13) Housing/ janitorial
14) Safety- particularly deck ops (AICC
will probably need to consider both scientist's view of ops, and CG's view
of scientists)
15) Administrative services
16) Medical- For ARVOC includes required
suites of physicals
17) Travel- As above probably more
an ARVOC issue than AICC as we all make our own travel arrangements
18) Ship operators- interactions between
bridge and scientists, nightly meetings, etc.
19) Any other comments
20) Plans for next trip if relevant.
The following summary of
items learned from the debriefs was reported and discussed during the AICC
meeting :
1. pre-cruise communications
AMORE
10. Small boat ops
ALTEX
(none on AMORE)
- Planning manual should make clear what is and is
not possible.
- Limits of small boat operations (mostly personnel)
were established during this cruise.
11. Helos
BOTH
- Scientists need to understand Coast Guard helo
regulations, including what other operations can be done concurrently. An
understandable summary of this information should be available to the scientists.
- Chief pilot should be at planning meetings.
12. Food
AMORE
- More nutritious breakfast cereals?
- On a more serious note, there is interest in having
the meal billing sent directly to NSF. This appears to be possible. A system
similar to what is used on POLAR class icebreakers was suggested.
- If not directly billed, pre-cruise planning materials
should make the process very clear to all scientists.
13. Housing/janitorial
AMORE
- Adding a Sauna was suggested.
- Make clear who is responsible for cleaning each
space, especially those spaces that are the responsibility of scientists.
In particular some "common" spaces such as heads near lab spaces
should be clearly identified as to responsibility.
14. Safety
AMORE
- CTD casts from the stern raised some safety issues
with regard to moving the CTD across the icy deck. Logistical problems with
keeping sensors and water from freezing are presented as well. CTD casts
from the starboard side in ice can be impossible to do safely under some
conditions, forcing the use of a stern launch. Coast Guard now washes ice
off the decks with warm salt water.
- Many scientists will be new to working in arctic
conditions and pre-cruise materials should make it clear what they should
bring to be properly prepared. There was some discussion about safety equipment/clothing
that would be provided by the ship and that should be provided by the PI
or individual scientist. The ship provides exposure suits, hard hats and
Mustang suits. Other equipment can be obtained through the grant process.
ALTEX
- Procedures for working on ice in the dark should
be refined and made clear in cruise planning materials.
- Increased lighting for night time operations was
recommended.
15. Administrative
AMORE
& ALTEX
- What should scientists bring in terms of spares
for ships equipment such as printers, copiers, etc.? This should be made
clear. Why not have NSF provide an inventory of spares? This is especially
an issue for the large plotters.
16. Medical
AMORE
& ALTEX
- Both groups raised the issue of whether or not
physicals should be required. Scientist physical are not required right
now. Simon Stephenson said that the Arctic program needs a review of this
matter. No way to police this yet. Not clear what direction should be taken.
This is a matter for NSF and the Coast Guard. There was a lively discussion,
including a note that this is also a matter of long ongoing discussion within
UNOLS. At the moment, scientists are encouraged to seriously tackle their
health issues prior to going to sea, and to have all relevant information
available to those who will be responsible for medical matters at sea. NSF
is aware that in the Arctic there is not one answer that fits all needs.
- Coast Guard does have a medical form, and appreciates
having these far enough in advance to know what changes, if any, in medical
kit stocking (and staffing?) may be necessary.
18. Ship operations
AMORE
& ALTEX
- Nightly meetings are critical to a successful cruise.
19. Other
AMORE
- When planning two-ship operations the Coast Guard
needs to receive a copy of any MOU well in advance so that they are aware
of any commitments or restrictions in operations.
ALTEX
- Lights for night operations could be improved.
- 'Four-season operations' statement is felt by some
in ALTEX to be misleading. Swift strongly disagreed, stating that HEALY
is indeed 4-season capable, especially in first-year ice and MIZ. It turns
out that the scientists were apprised of the fact that this was a first-time
winter op and there would be certain limitations, some of which were specified.
Value of taking and distributing minutes from pre-cruise meetings was noted.
- More deck crew needed for some operations.
- Night time operations - Chief Scientist needs to
state requirements for such. Expectations will vary based on CO views, ice
conditions, etc.
Coast Guard debriefs from
2001 cruises (plus/minus)
The Coast Guard held debriefs
with Scientists from the 2001 cruises and developed their own list of pluses/minuses/action
items. This list was reviewed and discussed during the meeting.
The following is a
summary of the on board debrief documents based on notes taken at the meeting.
A complete report of the debriefs can be obtained from the Coast Guard.
HEALY onboard debriefs
- AMORE mission
Action items
- ESU Seattle has found that TILT connector on HEALY
wasn't working. Unit has been sent back to NASA for replacement.
- Virus scan all laptops before they come on board.
Virus checking software has been installed on server.
- Seabeam needs a high-resolution display onboard
for crew.
- Obtain insulated covered area for the CTD.
PLUSes
- 90 successful dredges in ice. 0.68" coax used
for three of the deeper dredges. In areas with 8/10's ice most dredges were
successful. In 9/10's first year ice the ops also worked well.
- Ability to make on-the-spot evaluations about whether
or not to proceed with dredging. Sometimes ice would close up and op had
to be cancelled.
- Conservative approach to dredging - don't bring
up too much material - worked. HEALY never broke a weak link.
- AMORE trip filmed a lot of deck/ship ops. CG has
asked Dr. Langmuir for a copy of the tapes to use for training purposes.
- Letting senior scientists steer the ship helped
provide a reality check of what had to be accomplished for ship maneuvering.
- Seabeam worked well. Kudos to Greg Kurras for skill
with post-processing.
MINUSes
- CTD operations on stern in really cold conditions
are extremely difficult. Can maneuver ship to keep CTD out of wind, but
the temperature basically freezes CTDs before they can get into the hangar.
- Polarstern complicated operations, but it was useful
learning to work with another ship.
HEALY onboard debriefs
- ALTEX mission
Action items
- For communications with AUV, need to make scientists
aware of frequencies that HEALY is ready to monitor.
- Need to make scientists aware that they need to
plan for helo ops to keep up proficiency of pilots.
PLUSes
- Were able to deploy, track and recover AUV despite
the problems associated with the late season.
- Early comms with PI's made scientists aware of
TIDRAS communications problems allowing them to set up alternatives.
- Were able to accomplish much of the JPL/NIC work
during the night time hours by coordinating with ALTEX schedule.
MINUSes
- AUV recovery problems. Added reflective tape to
AUV that made it easier to see and recover.
- Station keeping in ocean water. Ship is what it
is, but need to make scientists better aware of realistic capabilities.
- Helo ops were ruled out during AUV work. Often
too windy or too dark for helo ops anyway.
Cruise planning questionnaire
- AICC members to review draft. Include email addresses,
cruise objectives. Review Palmer's questionnaire as it is more complete.
- CG is putting it together by following examples
already available.
- Living document that will be made available on
the web. HEALY will continue to change as they learn and have more experience.
- Check RPSC questionnaire to get more information;
don't re-invent the wheel.
Suggestions
- New section called "Scientific Goals or Objectives."
- Request email addresses.
- Need shipping box - items, sizes, weights, etc.
POLAR STAR SLIPP Assessment
- Viewed as a complete success. Only 1.5 days lost
due to really low (-50° C) weather.
- Build weather shelter for safety. Bad weather caused
some damage to equipment. Recommend that MSTs constantly check tie-downs.
- Pre-cruise comms with ship went well, but need
to improve ship-to-shore comms.
- Only two equipment failures mentioned.
- Need to improve shipboard computer facilities.
Wrap-up of Post-Cruise Assessments
- Results of debriefs should come out with recommendations
and action items.
- Those should be forwarded to the CG and to NSF/funding
agencies.
- Also forward to the PI to make sure that write-ups
actually reflect what the PI's wanted to convey.
- AICC should follow up on what happens with the
recommendations.
- AICC should also play a role in prioritizing the
action items. At AICC meetings we should not necessarily discuss all of
the action items.
Clearances
- Liz Tirpak at State Department is working to streamline
process for foreign clearances. She will address AICC at next meeting. (A
written report from her office is attached as an appendix).
- Native communities: some people were informed about
SBI, but not all interested parties. SBI ops will be happening during the
whaling season north of Barrow. Jackie Grebmeier is in touch with Native
communities in Alaska to address the concerns.
- Simon Stephenson provided contact information for
the Alaska Native Science Commission:
Patricia Longley Cochran
Executive Director
Alaska Native Science Commission
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
(907)786-7704 phone
(907)786-7739 fax
www.nativescience.org <http://www.nativescience.org>
www.nativeknowledge.org <http://www.nativeknowledge.org>
- Chief scientists will be encouraged/directed to
talk to native communities of U.S., Canada, Greenland, Russia, basically
wherever they will be working. Coast Guard should be kept in the loop and
assist with this process if necessary.
Scheduling - 2002
- UCGC still is unable to post schedules for the
HEALY and POLARS on the web.
- POLAR STAR - July 22 to October 7; schedule may
be delayed by two weeks because POLAR STAR is getting "beat up"
by ice in the Antarctic. No timeline yet for how long the scheduled maintenance
and repairs will take. Need to have a conversation with the PI's/Funding
agencies and make them aware of any delays and discuss the impact on their
science. (Subsequent to the meeting the dates were confirmed to remain as
originally scheduled)
- HEALY
April
27
depart Seattle
May 6 to June 15 SBI
Nome - Nome (40 days)
June 17 to July 7 Keigwin
Nome - Dutch (19 days)
July 16 to Aug 25 SBI
Nome - Nome (40 days)
Aug 27 to Sep 17 Keigwin
Nome(?) - Barrow (21 days)
- Port for Keigwin will depend on logistics for vibra-core.
- POLAR SEA - no science presently scheduled, scheduled
for repair, drydock, RIP and is the ship scheduled for Deep Freeze 2003.
Scheduling - 2003
- Scheduling process will take place late in the
summer. CG will send tentative dates to potential attendees. All funding
agencies will be invited.
- It is not guaranteed that HEALY will be in the
eastern Arctic in 2003. NSF's position is to let the science drive the ship
ops.
- Not all shiptime requests in the system are still
valid. UNOLS will try to remove outdated requests.
Scheduling - 2004
- SBI already locked in for 2004.
- All western Arctic requests.
Scheduling - 2005
- All western Arctic requests for SBI-related work.
Science of Opportunity
- A requested SOO cruise in the tropics was partially
successful. Some sampling was not completed after scientists had left the
ship under the assumption that Coast Guard would collect samples for them.
Their position is that they had trained CG personnel and communicated their
desires to ship.
- CG's position will be to direct potential SOO scientists
to read the AICC policy.
- Need to make point to SOO scientists that they
must have a science representative on the boat and cannot expect CG personnel
to accomplish their goals.
- AICC is not directly involved in operations outside
the Arctic, but can make stronger statement that SOO's have traditionally
been successful only 50% of the time. Right now there is no pending science
of opportunity.
Science Modifications,
Infrastructure and Equipment