Appendices
The UNOLS Annual
Meeting was held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, VA on
Thursday and Friday, October 14-15, 2010. The keynote address was delivered by
Dr. David O. Conover (Director,
Division of Ocean Sciences, NSF). He provided a report on the “NSF Response to
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Eruption.”
The Annual
Meeting also included reports on fleet renewal plans, agency activities, UNOLS
Committees updates, and a presentation on this year’s accomplishments and
goals. Elections were held for three UNOLS Council positions. Dr. Peter Ortner
(University of Miami) was elected to the Chair-Elect position. Drs. John Morrison and Nancy Rabalais were
both reelected to second terms as Council members. Additionally, the membership voted to approve
re-adoption of the UNOLS Charter with revisions suggested by the Council. The membership also voted to establish a new
UNOLS standing Committee, the Ocean Observing Science Committee (OSSC).
Meeting Summary Report:
Annual Meeting - Day 1
Introduction and Welcome – Vernon Asper, UNOLS Chair, called the UNOLS Annual Meeting to order on
Thursday, October 14, 2010. The meeting was held at the National Science
Foundation (NSF) in Arlington. VA.
Meeting
participants were provided an opportunity for introductions. The meeting agenda
is included as Appendix I and the participant list is included as Appendix II.
Vernon requested
a moment of silence in remembrance of Dr. John Diebold. John passed away on July 1, 2010 at the age
of 66. He was a very active member of
the UNOLS community and served on the UNOLS Council. He also was a regular participant at the
MLSOC and RVTEC meetings. John’s career
in marine sciences spanned four decades.
Jim Cochran
(LDEO) remarked that John was hired right out of high school and worked to
become a PhD. He was a remarkable
scientist and strived to get the perfect pulse of data. He was the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
(LDEO) winner of their Chili Cook-off competition.
UNOLS Vessel
Operations in response to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – Vernon Asper
reported that in response to the oil spill he has been on three UNOLS vessels
since April, R/Vs Pelican, Oceanus, and Cape Hatteras. Appendix III provides details about UNOLS response to the spill. There were a total of 274 days of UNOLS ship
days.
Thanks
goes to Linda Goad for all her efforts in coordinating support for the UNOLS
vessel response. Linda reported that
support for the NSF ship time exceeded $5M.
As for the future, on 29 September 2010, BP
announced their $500 million GOM Research Initiative (GRI) to study the effects
of the Deepwater Horizon incident and the potential associated impact on the
environment and public health over a 10 year program.”
Jon
Alberts has been in contact with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) to let them
know that UNOLS ships are available for oil spill response work.
It
is unclear at this time how the GRI money will get administered.
Federal Agency Reports:
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Bob Houtman
provided the NSF report and began with a few personnel changes. Dr Subra Siresh has been appointed as NSF
Director. Dr. David Conover, OCE
Division Director is onboard.
NSF is on a
Continuing Resolution (CR) until 12/3/10. There are no additional updates on what the budget will actually
be. While on the CR, NSF can operate at
90% of FY2010 level.
2010 has been a
very active year at NSF in terms of Ocean Sciences and many of these items will
be reported on later in the meeting.
Office of Naval Research (ONR) – Tim Schnoor
provided the ONR report. It is expected
that the budget for ship operations will remain at the same level as the past
several years. This year about 10% of
the ONR facility budget supported vessel repairs. 2010 was a busy year for Global Class ships
and all had over 300 days of work. Of
that total, about 500 ship days were for ONR and NRL operations. Most Navy days were on Revelle and this will continue into 2011 to support Physical
Oceanography and Acoustics programs.
In 2010, ONR
completed the cycle of INSURVs on the navy owned vessels.
FLIP is now 48
years young. ABS regularly inspects the
platform. The vessel operator is always
looking for science opportunities for FLIP.
Alvin underwent its annual certification in
April 2010 and some issues with hull flaws were discovered. The flaws were corrected, but it was
necessary to move an Alvin project to
the ROV Jason while repairs and re-inspections took place.
Revelle,
Atlantis, and Thompson will all be in the shipyard at the beginning of
2011. Ship operation days are down in
2011.
In exciting
news, the Ocean Class Research Vessels acquisition effort is progressing. More will be reported later in the meeting.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) – Ralph Rogers provided the report for NOAA’s Ship and Aircraft Support, Office
of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). His slides are included as Appendix IV and cover the NOAA OMAO
Budget (2006 to 2012), new ships and aircraft, NOAA’s Deepwater Horizon
Response and “Greening” efforts.
Ralph reported
that the new fisheries vessels, Shimada and Pisces have not successfully
completed their noise tests.
In response to
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, NOAA deployed seven ships to the Gulf of
Mexico. 404 total operating days have
been completed in the area.
NOAA is making
progress on efforts to Green their Fleet. More that 30% of fleet is using biodegradable hydraulic and lube oil.
NOAA is moving
their Pacific Northwest homeport from Seattle, WA to Newport, Oregon. The move will be complete in the summer 2011.
·
Vernon
inquired about the status of NOAA’s Atlantic Fleet? Ralph – NOAA owns the ship facility in
Norfolk, VA. The east coast facilities
are spread out and NOAA owns the facilities.
United States Coast Guard (USCG) – Commander
Krause provided the USCG report. The
icebreaker Healy is in the yard but
will be ready for next season’s science operations. It is anticipated that it will take nine
months to repair Polar Sea’s engines. [In early 2011, the USCG made the decision to
decommission the Polar Sea.] Polar
Star is still in caretaker mode, but is expected to be ready for service in
2013.
The USCG is in a
CR. There is draft legislation to
transfer operational funds for Healy from NSF back to USCG. USCG is ready to operate the vessel under
either scenario.
Question – What
ship will support the Antarctic Deep Freeze operations? Reply – the Swedish vessel, Oden.
Department of State – Liz Tirpak
provided the report. The Research
Application Tracking System (RATS) is activated and has been a helpful tool in
expediting clearance paperwork. RATS is not perfect. It has been in development for about 10 years. Liz reported that she has been able to raise
money for Version 2 of RATS.
Liz has been
trying to trouble shoot a clearance problem with Columbia.
Linda – Do you
know where the problem is with Columbia?
Liz – it appears
to be a problem with the embassy.
Sam DeBow – Will our ships ever be granted clearance for work
off Brazil? Liz – UNOLS voice is
strongly heard. Letters to the DoS about
this problem could be effective.
Sandy Shor – Are
there clearance issues with other countries that are a problem? Liz – There are only about 10 denials
annually and most often it is with the countries who demand the 6-month advance
lead time for clearance requests.
Deb Steinberg –
What is the issue with Brazil? Liz – It
is lack of communication between Science and Administer of Defense.
Fleet Operations in 2010 and Recommendations for 2011 - Stan Winslow provided a summary of 2010 operations and the 2011 scheduling process. Jon Alberts followed with a summary of agency recommendations for 2011 Fleet Operations. Their slides are contained in Appendix V.
Stan began the report. The
Ship Scheduling Committee
(SSC) Chair is Stan Winslow and the SSC Vice Chair is
Liz Caporelli. Stan’s Chair term expires
in October 2010 and Liz Caporelli is stepping down as Vice Chair. Normally the SSC Vice-Chair moves into the
Chair position; however, Liz recently accepted a new position with the OOI
group at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). UNOLS
is working
to fill both the Chair and Vice-Chair vacancies. Stewart Lamerdin has agreed to serve as Vice
Chair for now.
The 2011 ship
scheduling process was grim. In January
2010, the Global Ship Schedulers met with NSF, ONR, and NOAA reps at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography (SIO) for an initial review of ship time requests
for 2011. They made a first cut at 2011
schedule options with Agency input on priorities. Ship scheduling efforts continued through the
following months including efforts to encourage additional ship time. Scheduling meetings (telecomm and in-person)
were held through the summer. In
September the schedulers posted 2011 schedules.
Jon Alberts
continued the scheduling report. There
continues to be problems with reduced ship day demand and funding
shortfalls. Charts showing fleet
utilization, ship-time demand, and projections are included in the slides. There is about a 1000 operating day decline
since 2005. Utilization by ship Class
shows a drop across the board in 2011. In 2011, none of the ships will be laid up but the schedules are
light.
A letter
was prepared by NSF/ONR/UNOLS with the Agency
recommendation for 2011 Fleet operations and submitted to the UNOLS
Council on September 15, 2010. A summary
of the recommendations is included in the slides. Maintenance periods in the vessel home-port
were strongly encouraged both as a cost saving measure as well as an
opportunity to conduct preventative maintenance. If no additional work is identified when the
final schedules are completed, it may be necessary for NSF to consider providing
some funds to support extended maintenance or partial layup periods for the
NSF-owned ships, Wecoma and Point Sur. The agencies encouraged
the ship operators to find ways to reduce costs and seek appropriate
opportunities to support research and education programs supported by other
funding sources. Operators of institution-owned ships were
encouraged to decide if their planned schedule can support the cost to
operate. An analysis of the possible
causes for the recent decline in ship-time request demand was recommended.
Discussion:
·
Peter
Wiebe – OPP indicated that they could perhaps use a UNOLS vessel in the
Antarctic. Jon – This will be explored
and is not represented in the schedules. If OPP decides to use a vessel, the ship will deploy in late 2011.
·
Peter
Wiebe – Can UNOLS pick up the NOAA work that NOAA did not do when their ships
were deployed to the Gulf for the oil spill response? Jon – UNOLS has not had a request from NOAA.
·
Sandy
Shor – There was rumor of NOAA plans to not charter UNOLS vessels. Jon – That issue did arise, but fortunately
NOAA can continue to charter UNOLS vessels in 2011.
Facility Renewal Activities:
Ocean Class Acquisition Update –Chris
MacDonald provided the Ocean Class acquisition report. His slides are included as Appendix VI.
Chris discussed the status of
Phase I, the acquisition schedule, proposed UNOLS representation, and the
operator representation.
The Phase I Preliminary/Contract
Design contract awards were made to two separate design/build teams on 27 Jan
2010. Design reviews with each team were
held during the spring and summer 2010. The Phase II Detail Design and Construction Contract award to one team
is expected in FY 2011, Quarter 4. The
first ship delivery is scheduled in FY2014 and the second ship in FY 2015.
ONR appointed Mike Prince as the
Ocean Class project Research Facilities Assistant. He reports to Tim Schnoor at ONR and works
with Chris MacDonald at PEO Ships. Mike
represents the interests of ONR and the broader UNOLS community during the
Ocean Class AGOR design and construction process. He will coordinate with the Operator
representatives during design reviews and construction. Mike will assist with review of data
deliverables (drawings, plans, calculations). He will provide input on Mission Equipment selections, schedules for
installation, and post delivery test and trial schedule.
Chris provided information about
the proposed make-up and responsibilities of a UNOLS Advisory Committee. The Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) is
asked to propose the make-up of advisory committee to ONR for concurrence. Signed non-disclosure agreements and
competition rules training will be mandatory for all members. The responsibilities of the advisory
committee will include:
·
Provide input as needed on potential
changes to specifications
·
Assist Research Facilities Assistant
with review of Phase I data deliverables as needed
·
Provide Research Facilities Assistant
input on Science Mission Systems equipment selections and schedules for
installation as needed
Chris reviewed the UNOLS Operator
Representation responsibilities. See the
slides for details.
Discussion:
·
Kenneth Coale – At
the end of the design phase, will there be an estimated cost for each ship?
Mike Prince – The first ship is budgeted at $74M and $71M for the second ship.
Regional Claas Acquisition Status – Bob
Houtman provided the report on the Regional Class Research
Vessel (RCRV) status. His slides are
contained in Appendix VII. Bob gave a
bit of history on the project. At the
end of the initial Phase I effort, the estimated RCRV construction costs were
too high. NSF is still committed to the
project and they are looking for alternate funding options.
In October
2009, an NSF Panel reviewed the RCRV designs and down-select
to one design. Although the panel did a down-select, they
felt that there were areas that needed greater attention and areas of inquiry
were identified. NSF tasked FIC for
their input on the areas of inquiry and FIC provided a response in September.
NSF would like to move forward with an “ARRV-like”
process and a solicitation has been drafted. They would follow the MRE process with the Preliminary
and Final Design Review structure.
The
optimal RCRV acquisition schedule is:
·
Release
Solicitation - Late 2010/Early 2011
·
Begin
Construction - Early 2014
·
Science
Operations - Late 2016
NSF is still
committed for up to three hulls.
Discussion:
·
Peter Wiebe – The
original cap for each RCRV was about $25M. The ships could not be built for that price. What will be the cap for the RCRV? Bob – They haven’t listed it as a cap, but
the budget will possibly be in the range of $50M to $55M per ship.
·
Mike Prince – Is
the design still for a ship that will be under 300GTons? Bob – Yes.
·
Dennis Nixon – Will NSF release the RFP
before they know the funding stream? Bob
– No.
·
Rich Findley – Will there be geographic
distribution of the RCRV operators? Bob
– NSF will make a geographic requirement: East, West, and Gulf of Mexico.
·
Nancy- What if only one ship can be
built? Bob – The ship locations have not
been prioritized.
·
Bruce – Will NSF economize by having one
ship builder for all ships? Bob – If NSF
acquires three ships, there will be a lead institution to oversee the
construction of all three.
Alaska Region Research Vessel, R/V Sikuliaq, Construction Status – Terry Whitledge (UAF) provided the report on the
Sikuliaq status. His slides are included
as Appendix
VIII.
“Sikuliaq” means new ice.
In October
2008 the Final Design Review (FDR) for the vessel was completed. In August 2009, the Z-drive contract with
Wartsila was signed. January 7, 2010 was
the shipyard contract start date with Marinette Marine Corporation. The project is well into the design
verification and transfer to the shipyard. The project cost is $123,179,168.
There have been some project changes since the completion of the FDR (see
slides). One change included the award of a hull option
to lengthen the vessel by 12 feet and add an anti-roll tank.
Fabrication of
the ship is expected to begin in October 2010 and the Keel Laying is scheduled
for February 2011. Launch is planned for
April 2012 and science trials are scheduled for the period from April to
mid-June 2013. The NSF Inspection is
planned for October 2013 with science operations to follow.
As part of the
construction effort, full scale mock-ups of some of the vessel spaces are being
built. The spaces include: the bridge,
the Science Control Room, a wheelchair accessibility State Room, and
laboratories (Main Lab, Wet Lab, Electrical/Computer Lab, Analytical Lab, and
Upper Labs). The usefulness of the
mock-ups has already been realized. Photos of the mock-ups are included in the slides.
Break
Keynote Address - Dr. David O. Conover, Director for the Division of Ocean Sciences,
NSF provided the Annual Meeting keynote address. His slides are included as Appendix
IX. The title of Dr. Conover’s
talk was, “NSF Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Eruption.”
The total amount awarded for
NSF’s Rapid Response Research efforts was $19.4 million and the total number of
NSF awards was 166. About a
third of the awards were in ocean sciences. The number of
requests that came into the NSF Ocean Sciences Division was 443 requests and
they issued 59 grants for a total of $6.823M. In OCE, awards
were processed in as short as two days and on average was 11 days. It was truly a rapid response effort. A little
less than half of the Rapid Response awards went to Gulf of Mexico states.
The total
NSF ship days was 224 days on six UNOLS vessels. The total amount of ship costs was greater than $5
million.
The slides include an
overview of oil spill response efforts from April-July 2010. The timeline of operations and the
publications from Rapid Response Research are listed.
BP made a $500 million commitment over a 10 year period to support
independent research. The initial
distribution of funds to the Gulf States is provided in the slides. In terms of grant renewals, “Renewed
funding of RAPID awards may be requested only through submission of a proposal
that will be subject to full external merit review. Such proposals would be
designated as “RAPID renewals.” There will be a panel established to oversee the
distribution of the BP funds. The panel
will be selected by BP, agencies, and governors of the 5 Gulf States.
A Deepwater Horizon Oil
Spill Principal Investigator (PI) Conference sponsored
by the Office of Science and Technology, Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science
and Technology was held in St. Petersburg, FL on October 5-6, 2010. The conference brought together scientific
investigators from academia, private research institutes, and agencies
conducting DWH oil spill related research, monitoring, and sampling, as well as
representatives from the NSTC JSOST agencies. The conference in St Pete was successful.
Discussion:
·
Nancy Rabalais – There is still
oil in marshes. What is being done by
this? Dr Conover – restoration would be
taken over by other agencies.
·
Nancy Rabalais – There is science
that can be learned from the marsh oil effects. Dr. Conover - If scientific advances can be made they would be
entertained.
·
Kenneth Coale – When do you think
there will be a plan to quantify the scope of the oil disaster? Dr Conover – There is a plan. He was on a committee that included multiple
agencies. The draft Strategic Plan for Sub-Sea and Sub-Surface Oil and
Dispersant Detection, Sampling, and Monitoring dated 17 September 2010 is under
Executive review.
·
Dan Schwartz – One of the primary
tasks for UNOLS is to provide fleet access. UNOLS was able to respond to the oil spill with six vessels, if ships
are laid up in the future, they won’t be available for rapid response.
·
Dr Conover –Finding the funding
stream to support fleet renewal is a high priority for NSF. Acquisition of three new Regional Class ships
is justified and NSF is highlighting the response effort as another reason to
move forward.
·
Vernon Asper – He is very
appreciative of NSF’s support for the Rapid Response Effort.
Facility Renewal Activities (continued):
Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) – Jean McGovern
provided a status report on OOI
implementation plans. Her slides are
included as Appendix X.
·
They
are building OOI to operate for 25 years.
·
This is one of the
first projects that has built in education from the start
·
In 2012 there will be a
huge install phase. Each string will be
replaced every 6 months. There will be a lot of challengers in ordering and
storing systems.
·
OOI learned a lot from
Canada’s Neptune program.
Replacement Human Occupied Vehicle (RHOV) Project – Brian Midson (NSF) provided the report on the RHOV
also know as the Alvin Upgrade project. His slides are included as Appendix XI.
The original
project was to build a new vehicle. However, cost estimates for the project were too high, so instead the
decision was made that in order to maintain a U.S. HOV capability, Alvin would be upgraded
dramatically. The upgrade would take
place over two phases. In the initial
phase Alvin will receive a new sphere, but the vehicle will continue to be
operated to a depth rating of 4500m. All
of the new components that are installed during Phase I (syntactic foam and
sphere) are rated for a depth of 6500m.
Brian showed
images of the titanium sphere fabrication. It has been welded and just recently heat treated. The heat treatment is applied to relieve the
stresses from welding and reduce cracking.
The Alvin
Upgrade project underwent a Final Design Review (FDR) in September 2010. The FDR panel recommended that the project
continue. Dual NAVSEA/ABS
certification/classification will now be required. The project schedule is a concern. It will take time for NAVSEA to get up to
speed on the project.
The sphere is
expected to be delivered in May 2011 and the initial sea trails are planned for
mid 2012.
Brian showed a
video-clip of the project activities.
DEep Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) – Peter Girguis,
DESSC Chair, report on DESSC activities and plans for their fall meeting in
December. Pete’s slides are included as Appendix
XII.
NDSF vehicle
status and updates included the addition of the AUV Sentry to the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF). DESSC continues to be informed about the DSV Alvin upgrade and will continue to work with the Replacement HOV oversight
committee (RHOC) to insure that scientists’ concerns are addressed. DESSC
reviewed plans for the ROV Jason launch and recovery system upgrade.
The DESSC has
long standing concerns about photo attribution and copyright of images
collected with the NDSF vehicles. DESSC
is working with WHOI personnel to develop a simple, shipboard database to
insure that photographer is properly recognized.
NDSF personnel –
There are some disparities in
management at the NDSF. Pete will
ask WHOI to provide DESSC with an assessment of this situation, to better
understand these issues, and how they may affect operations at the NDSF.
DESSC is working
to develop approaches to building a larger user base for NDSF. Increased publicity at a UNOLS booth and
other forums will be considered in the future. DESSC will look into partnering with existing mechanisms such as the R2K
distinguished Lecturer series and the “proposed” FIC chief scientist workshops.
Consortium for Ocean Leadership – Bob Gagosian
provided an update on Ocean Leadership activities. His slides are included as Appendix XIII.
Ocean Leadership is made up of about 100 organizations.
An Ocean Leadership Working Group to Develop Future Funding Models for
New Ships was formed this year. Their
charge was to review existing models to fund and support the academic research
fleet. Using the past reports, they were
asked to develop, recommend, and prioritize alternative funding models and/or
approaches to the Ocean Leadership Board of Trustees.
The Ocean Leadership Board is looking for an innovative framework for how
the organization should work with the community to secure a suite of
oceanographic assets that support and respond to a broad range of National
needs (e.g., economic, environmental, defense, etc.).
The Working Group membership is chaired by Mark Abbott and the full list
is in the slides. They are working to
have the final report ready for the Board by the end of 2010 and ready for
implementation in early 2011.
Greening the UNOLS Fleet – Bruce Corliss
provided an update on activities and future plans for the UNOLS Green
initiative. His slides are included as Appendix XIV.
Bruce reported
that “Greening the Fleet” is a long term goal established in 2010. The motivation is for Environmental
stewardship, educational outreach, finances, and fleet renewal.
Some of the
activities that have occurred or are underway include an RVOC questionnaire on how
to make existing ship operations more environmentally friendly, a “Green
Session” at the NSF 3RD Large Facility
Workshop, and a Cape Hatteras Life Cycle analysis to assess environmental and economic impacts.
Plans are
underway to convene a UNOLS Green Ship Workshop. The workshop will be held at Duke
University. There would be
representation from the UNOLS Council, RVOC, RVTEC, FIC, NSF, Navy, NOAA,
architects and naval designers, industry, and marine scientists interested in
attending.
The long term goals for the initiative are to:
1)
Promote
environmental sustainability within UNOLS.
2)
Development of
guidelines for construction, operation and recycling of UNOLS research vessels
that can be used by UNOLS and the federal agencies responsible for U. S. oceanographic
vessels.
3)
Development of
green vessel guidelines for a broad range of U.S. vessels in addition to
research vessels.
4)
Promote
environmental awareness on UNOLS ships with U.S. ocean scientists and students
over the coming decades.
5)
Incorporate environmental
sustainability in Ocean Class and Regional Class vessel construction and
operation.
Kenneth Coale –
Is there time to get the green technologies into the OCRV and RCRV designs. Mike Prince – The OCRV hull form designs have
been defined, but green waste management and air quality can be considered. On RCRV there is going to be a design refresh
so there might be more possibilities.
Adjourn – Day 1
of the Annual Meeting
October 15, 2010 Annual Meeting – Day 2
Call Day-2 of the Meeting to Order: Vernon Asper, UNOLS Chair, called Day-2 of
the UNOLS Annual meeting to order at 8:30 am.
Marine Technician Recruitment and Retention Pilot Program – Jim Holik provided an introduction and then introduced Alice Doyle. Alice provided an update on the UNOLS pilot program status. Her slides are included as Appendix XV.
Over the past year, Alice's efforts with the Marine
Technician Recruitment Pilot Program have focused on:
·
Collecting
Information
·
Further
contact with Technical Managers to learn about their programs.
·
Visits
to WHOI, LDEO, URI, UDE, UW, OSU
·
Conversations
with scientists
·
Conversations
with various other shipboard technical support programs to understand their
systems (NOAA, NOAA OER, MBARI, IODP, SEA, OOI, USAP, OOI, WHOI vehicle
programs).
·
Conversations
with private companies who supply technicians
·
Follow-up/Debrief
with tech exchange host institutions and technicians
·
Conversations
with full-time and contract technicians
Effort was spent
in finding technicians to fill positions on other platforms. Full-time and contract technicians were
transferred or placed on other vessels. An easy means of exchanging technicians was established between the
UNOLS and OPP fleets. These transfers offered great experiences for full time
technicians. They had the opportunity
see how another institution’s operations run. It was also a great experience for the host
institutions in that the process of getting a qualified technician to fill-in
was painless.
Alice worked
with the MATE program to set up a 6-month internship to run from January to
June 2011. WHOI and Duke will host the
interns. An RVTEC subcommittee was
established to develop internship guidelines and assist in choosing the
candidates. For more information go to: http://www.marinetech.org/education/internships.php
Alice is investigating
possibilities of developing Marine Technician Best Practices within the fleet
to standardize operations and data collection for some systems. Some areas under consideration for Best
Practices are: Multibeam, ADCP, Echosounders, CTD, Gravimeter, Magnetometer,
TSG and other underway data systems, Met data, coring, etc.
Alice is investigating
Marine Technician training within the fleet. She developed a survey on training within the fleet to:
·
Review
the current training models within the fleet
·
Begin
to develop a database of beneficial and not-beneficial courses for the fleet so
current and future technicians can benefit from past technicians' training and
education experiences
·
Find
out if there is any opportunity for future group training/education
Alice is
investigating a means of hosting the Technician Pool. The Pool would provide flexibility to the
Tech Managers within the fleet. Pool techs
could augment the current support on particular cruises. The tech pool will consist of sea-going only
technicians, either contract employees or independent contractors. NSF sent out an announcement requesting
Letters of Interest from those institutions who might be interested in hosting
the pool. NSF is developing a letter of
Guidance to potential bidders. NSF
is considering funding a pilot program to implement the concept.
Alice developed
a tri-fold about the jobs available within the UNOLS fleet and she is looking
for areas from which to recruit/inform the community.
Discussion:
· Stan Winslow – Has there been any progress made on developing a standard skill set. Alice – She hasn’t found a “perfect” skill set.
· Mike Prince – Have you had opportunities to provide lessons learned to the crew. Alice – Not yet.
· Peter Wiebe – In the cruise pre planning, data management should be addressed. Alerting everyone to the need for data management is good at the very beginning. Jim Holik – This is important because there are new guidelines for identifying the data management plan.
· Jon Alberts – Losing a bunk to allow marine technician training isn’t going to be popular, but perhaps the science party can use it as an advantage to say that they have extra technical support.
· Wilf Gardner – This is all great for at-sea technical support, however, technical help is needed pre-cruise. Jim Holik – The tech pool solicitation will indicate that shore side support is needed.
· Vernon Asper – Best Practices is a good thing. It would be a useful to know the basics about the equipment.
· Kip Shearman – Will the Internship program grow? Jim Holik – If it works he is interested in supporting it.
· Bob Collier – Will the material that you and MATE put together for the internship program be used outside of the program? If there is a way to use the material in outside ways, it could be useful. Rich Findley – There may not be a very structured curriculum because the training could depend on the operations that the interns are exposed to during the internship.
Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) – Vicki Ferrini provided an R2R update on the project activities and plans. Her slides are included as Appendix XVI.
The vision for R2R is to provide a direct pipeline for routine underway cruise data from operating institutions to long term archives through a centralized gateway. Vicki reviewed the benefits, types of shipboard data, and core R2R services (see slides).
Data is currently being submitted to R2R by 18 UNOLS vessels and it is anticipated that the remaining 3 UNOLS ships will be on-line by the time of RVTEC. Over 1,600 cruises have been cataloged and over 5 million files have been archived.
Vicki reviewed the R2R features including vessel profiles (online interface), data dissemination, reciprocal linking to data centers, the R2R event logger, real-time data, post-cruise quality assessment.
R2R personnel have made efforts to reach out to the community via ship operator visits and national meetings.
Discussion:
· Peter Wiebe – Does R2R keep track of any big programs. Example – can you search by “GEOTRACES”? Vicki – R2R is considering this and it is something that they would like to do.
· Reggie Beach – Do UNOLS vessels continually stream multibeam data. Jim Holik – No there is too much bandwidth. Vicki – The multibeam data set is too large to send over HiSeasNet. They get multibeam data post cruise.
· Bruce Appelgate – Could this facilitate post clearance reporting? Vicki – R2R is classifying by zones.
NSF Solicitation for USCGC Healy Ship Support – Renee Crain (NSF) reported on the NSF
solicitation for a single Cooperative Agreement for USCG Icebreaker support.
The Ship-based Science Technical Support in the Arctic (STARC) would provide
support similar to that found on UNOLS vessels. Her slides are included as Appendix XVII.
Under the Cooperative
Agreement the awardee would help plan and execute science support for
Arctic cruises on icebreakers, augmenting USCG. The awardee would also manage science equipment onboard icebreakers in
cooperation with USCG and NSF. The ships
that would be supported include Healy, Polar Sea and Polar Star, and would transition to other
ships as needed
The proposal deadline is November 8th and they will be
reviewed during the winter with an award expected in Spring 2011.
Renee introduced Hedy Edmonds who will fill in for Renee while she is
on maternity leave.
Discussion:
·
Bob
Collier – Would the proposing institution be required to provide the technical
support people to participate in the cruise? Renee – The institution would match the technical support needs with the
appropriate people. They can draw from
the pool or recruit other technicians as required.
·
Question - Isn’t there already a Healy support group in place? Renee – Through various grants (LDEO, SIO, etc.) technical support has
been patch-worked together. STARC would
centralize the support through one grant.
Interagency
Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure (IWG-FI) – Rear Admiral Kenul (NOAA) provided the report on the IWG-F activities and
plans. His slides are included as Appendix
XVIII.
The IWG-FI
is a subgroup of JSOST. IWG-FI focuses on policy, procedure, and planning
related to oceanographic facility use, platforms, networks and systems
upgrades, and investment. This includes
novel and emerging technologies. They
emphasize cooperative interactions with UNOLS.
IWG-FI
was re-chartered this year. RADM Kenel
reviewed the IWG-FI current activities (details are included in the
slides). A new group formed under the IWG-FI
this year is the Task Force on Unmanned Systems (TFUS). They were established in January 2010 and are tasked to provide advice
on policies, procedures, and plans relating to unmanned system uses, upgrades,
and investments. Reggie Beach and Kim
Curry are the co-chairs. The TFUS functions and priorities are listed in the slides.
The Scope of the TFUS includes:
·
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV)
·
Gliders
·
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
·
Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV)
·
Lagrangian Platforms (floats, drifters)
In
July 2010, and Executive Order on Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the
Great Lakes, endorsed the recommendations of Ocean Policy Task Force
(OPTF). The OPTF recommendations
included nine priority areas, each with their own Strategic Action Plan
(SAP). IWG-FI, IWG-OCM and IOOC were
contacted to aid in the development of the SAP for Priority 9. The Priority 9
recommendation states, “Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Observations, Mapping,
and Infrastructure- Strengthen and integrate Federal and non-Federal ocean
observing systems, sensors, data collection platforms, data management, and
mapping capabilities into a national system, and integrate that system into
international observation efforts. IWG-FI
has a meeting scheduled for October 20, 2010 to begin to address this
task.
2010/2011
UNOLS Goals and Priorities – Bruce Corliss presented the 2010/2011 UNOLS
Goals and Priorities as established by the UNOLS Council. His slides are
included as Appendix XIX. A goal for
the next year will be to explore options to establish a speaker series to
highlight UNOLS ships and oceanographic research and to serve as an outreach
activity to non-UNOLS colleges and universities, with particular attention
given to institutions with under-represented minorities in the marine
sciences. As one option, the series
could be introduced as a pilot program that would include a revolving set of
speakers who would participate in this outreach program each year for three
years, at which time a review of the program would be carried out to determine
if it is a worthwhile outreach activity for UNOLS.
Discussion:
·
Bruce
Corliss – We will look to schools that may not be as familiar with UNOLS.
·
Vernon
Asper – There has been a lot of mis-information about what UNOLS is.
·
Dan
Schwartz – The Marine Technology Society (MTS) started a speakers
database. We could look into this for
potential speakers.
·
Annette
DeSilva – The UNOLS Office could assist be compiling a set of UNOLS slides that
could be used for the lectures.
·
Wilf
Gardner – With OOI coming into service, we need to start educating the graduate
students about how to carry out with these new assets.
·
Richard
Kniffin – It might be nice to have a video of UNOLS.
·
Maureen
Conte – It would also be useful to target Marine Technology institutions.
UNOLS Evaluation of Decline in
Ship Time Requests – Annette
DeSilva reported on efforts to evaluate the decline in ship time request
demand. Her slides are included as Appendix
XX. A variety of reasons for the decline in ship time demand have been
suggested. A draft on-line survey was
created. With the data collected from
this survey we hope to identify any perceived obstacles that might be hindering
the submission of the ship time requests. We also hope to determine if this trend will continue and if so, more
informed decisions on the future UNOLS fleet composition can be made to better
match utilization projections.
The survey was drafted using the tool SurveyMonkey. There are 28 questions. Part I of the survey includes demographic
questions and Part II includes questions regarding future plans (if any) to use
vessels, which vessels, any obstacles in conducting research, etc
The next steps will be to finalize the form and then broadly distribute
the Survey URL with an end date. The
UNOLS Office will compile the data and present it at the winter Council
Meeting.
“UNOLS
Year in Review” - A summary of UNOLS activities in 2010 (that have not
already been reported) was provided. The
slides are included as Appendix XXI.
Jon
began the report.
NSF
3rd Large Facility Workshop - UNOLS
assisted in the organization of the NSF 3rd Large Facility
Workshop. It was held on May 4-7, 2010 in San Diego, CA. The organizers were Linda Goad, Florence
Rabanal, and Jean-Rene Roy (all from NSF), Scripps Institution of Oceanography
(SIO), and UNOLS. There were 110 participants including representation
from UNOLS institutions. Dennis Nixon
provided the Keynote Address and he spoke on the “Cost of
Complacency.” Details of the meeting are
included in the slides.
Investigate the Feasibility
of a more flexible UNOLS – In late 2009 a UNOLS goal was established
to “Investigate Ways that the UNOLS fleet could be more flexible.” In response an ad hoc committee was
formed. They were asked to prepare a white
paper addressing fleet opportunities, constraints & successful methods to
engage new users and define how decisions are made regarding ship use. This task will continue into the next year.
Antarctic Research Vessel Coordination and UNOLS – This year a goal was to work to increase the coordination between UNOLS,
NSF, and OPP. A few UNOLS activities
addressed this goal.
An
Ad hoc Committee of Vernon Asper, Robin Muench, and Peter Wiebe was
formed. They drafted a letter to NSF/OPP
that was endorsed by the Council. The
letter was sent to NSF/OPP on 24 September 2010 and provided “A Suggested
Approach and Offer of Support from the UNOLS Council Regarding Ship
Acquisition, Operation, and Oversight of Future Southern Ocean Research
Vessels.”
Additionally,
NSF/OPP requested that UNOLS lead an effort to refresh the Polar Research
Vessel (PRV) Science Mission Requirements that were drafted in 2006. UNOLS will form a committee and hold a
community workshop in early 2011 as part of this task.
Another
related UNOLS/OPP effort was establishment of a Marine Technician Exchange
Program between Ocean Sciences and Polar Programs.
Post Cruise Assessment Report (PCAR) Subcommittee – Erin Jackson provided the
PCAR report. The PCAR Subcommittee’s
goal is to assure that communications intended by the PCAR process remain
effective. They are to report back on
high-level trends and issues that might need to be addressed by the broader
community in the interest of improving quality of the seagoing operation.
The
members are Joe
Malbrough/LUMCON, Wilf Gardner/TAMU (new Chair), and
Dave Fisichella/WHOI. The subcommittee’s most recent review focused on the PCAR
forms for Thompson, Revelle, Knorr and Kilo Moana.
This year, UNOLS increased
the effort from the UNOLS office to ‘extract’ missing forms. Erin Jackson sent letters directly to the
Chief Scientists. This was effective,
especially for vessels with anomalously low return rates.
The
distribution and use of the PCARs is explained in the slides (see Appendix
XXI).
The PCAR review will continue. In the future a new form that is part of the
UNOLS STRS system will be introduced.
The timely return of the
PCARs is most effective. The PCARs can
identify safety or operational issues, which benefit by immediate attention.
Gender Climate at Sea – Jon Alberts reported that
the committee of Jon, Kenneth Coale, Annette DeSilva,
and Bruce reviewed the on-line training courses on sexual harassment prevention
offered by WorkPlace Solutions. The Committee selected WorkPlace Solutions training course: “Unlawful Harassment Prevention” for UNOLS. Jon will modify the introduction to customize
it for the UNOLS Fleet. Once on-line,
UNOLS will offer the training as a pilot program. We will need to determine how many licenses
are needed and who would act as the Administrator. The
estimated cost is about $15 per training session.
Discussion:
·
Kenneth Coale – This initiative was in response to a survey
conducted by WHOI. They found that
harassment was taking place aboard vessels. The science party was often involved and he really encourages scientists
to take the training.
·
Deb
Steinberg – Would the training be mandatory? Jon – It would be left to the institution.
·
Wilf Gardner –
What is the timeline? Jon – We may be
able to have the training available in 3 to 4 months.
·
Maureen
Conte – Perhaps this should be an addendum in the pre-cruise meeting.
·
Rich
Findley – The training should be cited in the pre-cruise manual.
UNOLS Outreach Initiatives – Annette DeSilva reported on UNOLS outreach
initiatives and resources. These
include:
•
A proposed UNOLS Lectureship Program (Goal for 2010/11)
•
Proposed Chief Scientist Training Workshop (2011)
•
UNOLS 101 Slide Presentation (posted on the UNOLS website)
•
New web page that offers UNOLS outreach material: http://www.unols.org/info/outreach.html
•
Volunteer Opportunities (posted on the UNOLS website)
•
UNOLS Lobby Display
•
UNOLS Traveling Poster
Morning
Break
UNOLS
Membership Ballot Measures: Ballots
were distributed to UNOLS Representatives by mail in early September. Members
voted by postal mail ballot, proxy, or in person at the meeting. The results of the elections and ballot
measures are as follows (they are also included as Appendix XXII):
UNOLS Council Election results:
·
Chair-Elect
(2 year term) –Dr. Peter B. Ortner,
University of Miami/RSMAS
·
Non-Operator
Representative (3 year term) - Dr. John M.
Morrison, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, was elected to a second
term.
·
At-Large
Representative (3 year term) - Dr. Nancy N.
Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, was elected to a second term.
Charter Revision And Re-Adoption – The
membership approved the revision and re-adoption of the
UNOLS Charter as set forth in the proposed UNOLS Charter revision document
(available on line at: http://www.unols.org/meetings/2010/201010anu/CharterRevision2010.html
Establishment
Of A New UNOLS Standing Committee – The UNOLS Member Institutions authorized
the establishment of an Ocean Observing Science Committee (OOSC) to be operated
according to the proposed Terms of Reference (dated September 9, 2010). The Terms of Reference will be incorporated
in the UNOLS Charter as Annex X. The
OOSC is charged with providing advice and guidance on decisions and plans from
the science perspective related to NSF observing investments such MARS and OOI. The OOSC will be an essential element in the
process of communicating the science user perspective to NSF and to the project
teams involved in developing, deploying and operating ocean observatories.
The Council
endorsed the appointment of the following individuals to the OOSC
membership:
·
Larry Atkinson (Chair)
·
Emmanuel Boss
·
Suzanne Carbotte
·
Steve DiMarco
·
Nancy Rabalais
UNOLS Reports – Jon Alberts reported on various UNOLS
topics. His slides are included as Appendix XXIII. Jon thanked the Council and Committee members
whose terms have ended over the past year. They included:
·
Council: Peter Wiebe
·
DESSC: Bill
Chadwick, Jeff Karson, Craig Young
·
FIC: Jim
Cochran
·
RVTEC: Stewart Lamerdin
·
RVOC: Pete
Zerr
·
AICC: Bernie
Coakley, Rebecca Woodgate, Carin Ashjian
·
MLSOC: Nancy Grindley, Michell Lyle, Tom Shipley, Peter Tyack
·
SSC: Stan Winslow, Liz Caporelli
·
SCOAR: John Bane, Daniel Riemer,
Richard Zimmerman
Jon announced the new appointments to Committees:
·
DESSC: Peter Girguis
·
FIC: David Bradley, Miles Sundermeyer
·
RVTEC: Daryl Swenson
·
AICC: Karen Frey, Jeremy Mathis, Luc Rainville,
Larry Mayer, Robert Campbell
·
SCOAR: Phil McGillivary
·
MLSOC: David Scholl, Sandy Shor, Nathan Bangs
UNOLS Dues Accounting – Jon reported that the balance in the Dues account as of 10/6/2010
is $6150.
UNOLS Committee Reports:
· Ongoing fleet planning and improvement activities using the 2009 Fleet Improvement Plan as a guide for recommendations.
· Responses and recommendations stemming from 13 areas of inquiry on the RCRV design were submitted to NSF on August 30, 2010.
· FIC has been reviewing feedback from scientists, operators and marine technicians on the R/V Sharp, the load handling system on the R/V Kilo Moana and the WHOI Long Coring System.
· A FIC liaison to the MLSOC is serving to encourage a more versatile and fully outfitted R/V Marcus Langseth.
Research Vessel Operators' Committee (RVOC) – Joe Malbrough, RVOC Chair-Elect, reviewed the
highlights of the 2010 RVOC meeting, Committee activities over the past year,
and plans for the 2011 meeting. His
slides are included as Appendix XXV.
Joe reviewed the
plans of the Safety Committee and Research Vessel Safety Standards (RVSS):
·
Review
medical standard screening for scientific parties and crew
·
Update
the Crew Safety Training Manual
·
Plan
workshops for Appendix A- Rope and Cable Safe Working Load Standards
·
Final
Review of Draft for Appendix B
Appendix B
addresses UNOLS Overboard Handling Systems Design Standards and applies to:
·
All
fixed and portable overboard handling systems
·
Each
component of the overboard handling system
·
This
document WILL apply to cranes if they are used to lift, deploy, and/or recover
science packages
·
This
document DOES NOT apply to manned lifting operations
Other topics
included in Joes report were:
·
Equipment
Pools and Shared Use Equipment- Vans, Winches and Wire
·
Medical
Advisory System for the Fleet - MedAire is contracted
by UNOLS to provide medical services, products and assistance to all UNOLS
vessels.
·
NSF
Ship Inspection Program
·
UNOLS
Ship Inspection Best Practices Web Site located on the RVOC web page
The 2011 RVOC
meeting will be hosted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography on April 13-15.
Research Vessel Technical Enhancement Committee
(RVTEC) – Rich Findley, RVTEC Chair, reported on RVTEC
activities and plans for the RVTEC Annual Meeting to be hosted by the Bermuda Institute of
Ocean Science. His slides are included
as Appendix
XXVI.
The 2009 Annual
RVTEC Meeting was held at the University of Washington. It was a 3-day meeting plus an additional day
of focus groups. The meeting was well
attended with about 100 people. Details
of the agenda and focus groups are included in the slides.
The 2010 RVTEC meeting will be held at Bermuda Institute for Ocean Science on November
15-19. It will be a 3-day meeting plus 1
½ days of focus groups. The agenda is
available at: http://www.unols.org/meetings/2010/201011rvt/201011rvtag.html. One day of the meeting will be devoted to the RVSS Appendix A
workshop. It will include “hands-on”
opportunities aboard the R/V Atlantic
Explorer.
The RVTEC
Officer Appointments will move from a Vice-Chair to a chair elect
position. This is consistent with other
UNOLS standing committees.
Arctic
Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC) – Robin Muench (AICC Chair) reported on AICC activities in 2010 including an update on science
operations for Healy and the Polar Class Icebreakers in 2010 and planned
for 2011. His written report and slides
are included as Appendix XXVII.
Some of the topics reported include:
· The USCG Polar Sea is currently undergoing maintenance following support of arctic science earlier during the 2010 season.
· The Coast Guard has initiated repair and upgrading needed to return the USCGC Polar Star to service.
· The Healy conducted three science missions in the western Arctic during the 2010 summer season.
· Icebreaker activities for the coming 2011 summer field season in the western Arctic will consist primarily of three cruises aboard the Healy in support of the same multiyear projects supported during 2010 summer.
·
AICC
efforts continue to foster communications among scientific researchers, the
Coast Guard, science-oriented government agencies, and northern Alaskan Native
communities. There is a lot of effort put into this.
Information concerning polar icebreaker operations in general, can be found on the IceFloe website that is maintained by the USCG at http://www.icefloe.net/ .
There will be two membership openings on
the AICC in 2011.
Marcus Langseth Science Oversight
Committee (MLSOC) – Jon Alberts provided an update on R/V Langseth operations and plans for the MLSOC
fall meetings. His slides are included
as Appendix
XXVIII.
The MLSOC held a workshop on March 22-24, 2010 at Incline Village,
NV. The workshop was titled “Challenges
and Opportunities in Academic Marine Seismology.”
The workshop topics included:
·
What are the exciting science goals that, over the
next decade, will require a healthy Langseth facility?
·
How can the process of soliciting, evaluating,
funding, and scheduling work on the Langseth be
improved?
·
What modes of data access might help put Langseth products into more scientists’ and educators’ labs
and schools?
The workshop
recommendations and findings on the following areas are detailed in the slides:
·
Funding
·
Advanced Planning Cycle
·
Proposal Process
·
Training the Next
Generation
·
Data Processing
·
Hybrid model of
community-selected and PI-driven 3D and 2D programs
·
Improving the Educational Footprint
The workshop facilitated the formation of several self-organized groups
to submit community-driven 3D proposals with open data access for the upcoming
August 15 deadline. These self-organized groups provide an opportunity to
explore options for implementing open data access and strong training components
in Langseth 3D programs.
Graham Kent,
MLSOC Acting Chair, plans to step down in January 2011.
Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft
Research (SCOAR) –Daniel Schwartz (SCOAR Chair) reported on the committee’s June 2010 meeting
and future activities. His slides are
included as Appendix XXIX.
Dan showed a
video clip of a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that was used for marine
mammal monitoring.
Information
about the CIRPAS facility which makes
up the National Oceanographic Aircraft Facility was provided (see slides). The SCOAR 2010 meeting was held in Marina, CA
on June 22-23 at CIRPAS. During
the meeting, a presentation was made on incorporating
aircraft into ocean observing systems.
Dan’s slides
provide images and information on a variety of UAS systems. This included the Scan Eagle, Manta, Aerosonde, Quadrotor, and Flying
Fish UAS. UAS are proving to be capable tools in
multiple military and civil applications. Sensors are smaller, more capable. Regulatory issues are supplanting platform limitations as the primary
operational challenge.
There is
currently a membership opening on SCOAR.
Plans for a
science UAS demonstration project are moving forward. There will be a proposal to conduct a UAS
science demonstration (probably using a Scan Eagle) in the Indian Ocean.
Question:
·
Deb
Steinberg - How does a new PI get access to aircraft? Dan – This is one of the activities that
SCOAR plans to address. Currently, PI
can make requests thru CIRPAS.
General Membership Discussion:
Sandy Shor
raised the question of how projects can use vessels or small ships in remote
areas (like Guam). They have referred to
the Research Vessel Safety Standards Chapter 18. But it is unclear what constitutes a
“Charter” – bare-boat versus crewed. Perhaps there should be a revised form Appendix D for smaller boats.
Adjourn - A motion was
made and passed to adjourn the 2010 UNOLS Annual Meeting (Rabalais/Findley). The meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm.