Revised:  March 12, 2010

 

Tentative Agenda

UNOLS FLEET IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

University of Southern Mississippi
Department of Marine Science Facility
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center

March 29-30, 2010

 

Important Note:  If you plan to attend the FIC Meeting, please RSVP the UNOLS Office at office@unols.org.  Your name must be on the security list for access to Stennis.

This agenda can be downloaded as a pdf at <201003ficag.pdf>

 

Day 1:  Monday, March 29, 2010

 

0800    Coffee and Pastries

 

0830    Call the Meeting:  Clare Reimers, FIC Chair, will call the meeting to order, introduce the new FIC members, and provide an opportunity for introductions around the room.

·         FIC Membership – Discuss the terms that will expire in 2010

 

0845    Reports on Research Vessel Design and Construction Efforts

 

·         0845-0915:  Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV): Down-select decision, FY 2010 & 2011 Plans, FIC Tasking in preparation for Phase I Project Refresh - NSF

 

·         0915:  Ocean Class Research Vessel (OCRV):

−        Design/construction team selection – Chris MacDonald and Mike Prince

−        Status of Operator Selection – Mike Prince

−        Ocean Class Advisory Committee (OCAC) – timeline, constraints, status

−        Uncontaminated Seawater Systems – Mike Prince and Maureen Conte

−        FIC Tasking?

−        OCRV SMR Document Update - Jon Alberts

 

·         1000:  R/V Sikuliaq - Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV): Marc Willis

−        Status of construction

−        How is the ARRV different from the two Navy OCRVs?

 

1015    Break

 

1035    Reports on the Existing Fleet and Fleet Utilization

·         1035: Fleet Utilization, OOI ship time projections – Annette DeSilva 

 

·         1050:  Issues before RV operators and technical support groups

−        RVOC - Al Suchy

−        RVTEC – Marc Willis

−        Projected Service Life End Dates

−        Aging Vessels – Is there a need for a pool of long-lead time spare-parts pool?

−        Shipboard Noise in labs and accommodation spaces

 

·         1145: UNOLS Council and Committee Activities of Interest to FIC – UNOLS Office

 

1200    Lunch Break

 

1300    Reports on the Existing Fleet and Fleet Utilization (Continued)

·         1300: RV Hugh Sharp’s debriefs: What we have learned so far from a modern RCRV, how to proceed with the debriefings) – Clare Reimers

 

·         1320:  RV Kilo Moana Load handling system - Status report on the installation of the new Load Handling System. – Clare Reimers

 

·         1335:  WHOI Long-Coring System: There are 5 cruises scheduled in 2010. – Bill Curry

 

1345    Evaluation of possible platforms to support NSF's Long Core System - Currently Knorr is the only ship in the UNOLS fleet configured to deploy the long core system and Knorr is slated for its end of service life in 2015 as per the Fleet Status Report. - Al Suchy

 

1415    Break

 

1430    Global Class Planning

·         Status of NRC recommendations

·         White paper on the importance of Global Class Renewal

·         Approaching a multi-agency solution to Global ship replacement (can we think out of the box?)

·         Develop SMRs for Global Ships.  A new approach for obtaining community input is needed.

 

1500    Fleet Improvement Plan (FIP): Clare Reimers

·         Follow up on FIP recommendations

·         Appendix on Ocean Acoustics

 

1520    UNOLS Outreach/Mentoring Initiatives: Annette DeSilva

·         UNOLS mentoring program to introduce junior scientists to cruise planning and participation.

·         Cruise opportunity page and volunteers – Status on efforts to match volunteers to cruises.

 

1540    Other business and Opportunity for Additional Reports

·         Future FIC meetings –before or after the Council meeting?

 

1550    Review and Update FIC Action/Task List from the October meeting – Clare Reimers

 

1600    FIC Executive/Working Session – The remainder of the day is reserved for FIC members to address tasks and follow-up on activities addressed early in the day.  Participation by FIC members only is requested.

 

1700    Adjourn Day 1 FIC Meeting

 

 

Day 2 – Tuesday, March 30th: Joint session of the FIC and Council

 

0800    Coffee and Pastries

 

0830    Call the Meeting:  Vernon Asper, UNOLS Chair, will call the meeting to order and provide an opportunity for introductions.

 

0845    UNOLS 2010 Fleet schedules and science operations, estimated operation costs, and 2011 ship scheduling – Jon Alberts and Liz Caporelli

 

0915    Agency Reports – Budget projections, ARRA funding review, facility renewal efforts, agency initiatives:

·         NSF – Bob Houtman

o        Equipment Pools – Vans, winches, and wire – Matt Hawkins

·         NOAA

·         NAVY – Tim Schnoor

 

0945    Summary of Fleet Improvement Committee Meeting and Action Items – Clare Reimers

 

1000    An Ocean Infrastructure Strategy for U.S. Ocean Research in 2030 – The National Research Council has formed a committee to provide advice on the types of U.S. ocean infrastructure that will facilitate research in 2030.  The project scope and committee membership can be viewed at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49139 . – Peter Wiebe

 

1020    Break

 

1040    Interagency Working Group on Facilities – Report on the IWG-F activities and plans

 

1055    Consortium for Ocean Leadership – Report on Ocean Leadership items of interest to UNOLS.

 

1110    Greening of the Fleet – Bruce Corliss

 

1200    This concludes the joint meeting of the FIC and Council.