Revised:   December 9, 2008

The UNOLS Deep Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) invites you to attend their fall meeting. Ocean scientists and students interested in deep submergence science are encouraged to attend the DESSC meeting. This year, the DESSC meeting will follow a new format. Many of the formal reports that had been presented in previous years will instead be available in written form on the UNOLS web site.  The regular meeting is expected to adjourn mid-day. The Committee will meet in the afternoon. If there are any specific topics that you would like addressed during the meeting, please contact the UNOLS Office at <office (at) unols (dot) org>.

There is no cost for attending, but we ask that you submit an on-line registration form so that we can adequately accommodate all participants: <http://www.unols.org/meetings/2008/200812des/registration.asp>

A pdf copy of the agenda is available at <200812desag.pdf>.

0830 - Coffee and Pastries

0900 - Introductory Remarks, Meeting Logistics, Introductions (Deb Kelley)

• Review Agenda Items
• Introductions of DESSC members
• Summary of DESSC Activities from the Past Year and Future plans

0915 - Agency Reports

• NSF - Brian Midson
• NOAA Report and Okeanos Explorer Update - Karen Kohanowich
• ONR - Tim Schnoor
• UNOLS Report

0945 - National Facility Operators Report (WHOI)

1. Personnel Changes in NDSF - Susan Humphris
2. Summary of Upgrades to NDSF - Andy Bowen
3. Deep Submergence Scheduling: 2009 and Beyond - Chris German

1030 - Break

1045 - PI Reports [All presenters must provide slides to the UNOLS Office no later than December 8th so that they can loaded on the meeting laptop in advance of the meeting.]

• NDSF Vehicle Operations Summary - Chris German
• Alvin
• Jason
• ABE/Sentry
• Other facilities

1230 - NDSF Vehicle Debrief Interviews

• Summary of issues identified in all debrief interviews (Deb Kelley, Bill Chadwick, and Mike Tryon)
• Summary of WHOI’s Response to debriefs (Andy Bowen)

1300 - Adjourn

2:00 pm - Afternoon DESSC Meeting

The DESSC will meet in the afternoon at 2:00 pm to discuss committee activities and issues. The major topic of discussion will be the status of the Replacement Human Occupied Vehicle (RHOV) project. Andrew Barrs (WHOI RHOV Project Manager) and Anthony Tarantino (RHOV Project Assistant) will present information on the new titanium sphere, Alvin upgrade plans, and timelines. The community is welcome to attend. If there are topics that you would like to address, please contact the UNOLS Office at <office (at) unols (dot) org>.