URI Today<\/a><\/p>\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 July 12, 2018 \u2013 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium, led by the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography, to operate a new oceanographic research ship, one of only three such vessels in the nation.<\/p>\n
Owned by NSF and valued at over $100 million, the Regional Class Research Vessel will be constructed in Louisiana, delivered to Rhode Island in 2021 and home-ported at URI\u2019s Narragansett Bay Campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis significant investment in the nation\u2019s scientific research recognizes URI\u2019s half-century of leadership in the field of oceanography and its long-standing and fruitful collaborations with partner institutions,\u201d said URI President David M. Dooley. \u201cNo doubt the new vessel will help researchers, educators, students and the public gain a richer understanding of our planet and stimulate exploration that will lead to discoveries we can\u2019t yet imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is tremendous news for the Consortium members, URI, and the state of Rhode Island,\u201d said Bruce Corliss, dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography. \u201cThis new ship and our consortium will provide cutting edge technology and exciting new opportunities for research, education and outreach in ocean science and exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n
The East Coast Oceanographic Consortium, whose members include URI, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of New Hampshire School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering \u2014 along with 13 associate members \u2014 submitted a proposal in April to operate one of three new NSF research vessels that will enhance and update the nation\u2019s Academic Research Fleet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe award of the RCRV to the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium demonstrates the power of collaboration,\u201d said Robert Munier, vice president for Marine Facilities and Operations at Woods Hole. \u201cProviding access to the sea for our scientists and engineers is a key mission objective, which the Consortium will now be able to provide for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is particularly exciting news for the new School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering at UNH,\u201d said Larry Mayer, director of the school. \u201cAs a member of the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium with access to this new state-of-the-art research vessel, UNH scientists will have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in a range of important coastal and deep sea research experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Continuing URI\u2019s half century of ocean-going research, the new vessel will support such scientific studies as the tracking of ocean currents and fish migration, seafloor surveys in earth-quake prone regions of the world, conservation of marine mammals or the food-web dynamics in the deep ocean. In addition, the ship will offer educational opportunities to teachers and students from high school through the graduate level, as well as outreach to the general public.<\/p>\n
In 2017 NSF awarded the first of the three new research vessels to Oregon State University, which is overseeing design and construction of all three ships. Naval architecture and engineering consultant Glosten Associates is developing the ship design, with input from leading oceanographers from throughout the U.S. The ships will be built at Gulf Island Shipyards, LLC, in Houma, La.<\/p>\n
The new ship will be 199 feet long and 41 feet wide and will feature improved science labs, more workspace, state-of-the-art technologies, and more comfortable berthing. The ship will be able to cruise at 11.5 knots for up to 21 days. It will also include a dynamic positioning system that enables ships to remain in one exact spot for long periods and will allow operation of remote operated vehicles. The ship will carry a crew of 13 and up to 16 scientists and have a cruising range of 5,400 nautical miles.<\/p>\n
Regional Class Research Vessels conduct operations in the coastal ocean ranging from near-shore environments to the outer continental rise, as well as the open ocean. The vessel\u2019s endurance, draft, ice classification and science mission equipment are tailored for essential science throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas.<\/p>\n
NSF and other federal sponsors, including NOAA and the Office of Naval Research, are likely to continue annual funding of approximately $5 million to URI to operate the vessel. These funds support the cost of operating a research vessel, which include crew, food, fuel, planned maintenance, safety training, and science logistics. Scheduling will be coordinated through the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System.<\/p>\n
The consortium\u2019s associate members will have opportunities to conduct research at sea and will collaborate on research, education and outreach activities. They are: Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences; Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences; Brown University; Columbia University\u2019s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory; Florida Institute of Oceanography; Harvard University; Ocean Exploration Trust; University of Maine; University of Massachusetts, Boston; University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; University of Miami; University of Puerto Rico; and the University of South Florida. The consortium members will hold an annual science meeting to promote collaborations amongst the member institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate the commitment and dedication of all of our consortium members in preparing a successful proposal and planning for the operation of this new vessel,\u201d Corliss said. \u201cI look forward to partnering with them as we continue our work to advance ocean science and education worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The URI vessel will replace R\/V Endeavor, a 185-foot ship that URI has operated for more than 40 years and is nearing the end of its useful life. Endeavor traveled more than one million nautical miles from the Arctic to the South Pacific and nearly everywhere in between while conducting more than 600 research expeditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a floating laboratory and classroom, Endeavor has been a tremendous facility for the University and for the state and has raised URI and GSO\u2019s profile internationally,\u201d said Corliss. \u201cEndeavor has made important contributions to the state\u2019s economy, and the work conducted aboard the ship has advanced our understanding of oceanographic processes. We are pleased to continue this legacy over the next 40 years with the new vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
URI\u2019s first ship, R\/V Trident, was a former Army coastal freighter that was converted to a research vessel and operated by URI from 1962 to 1976.<\/p>\n
Follow NSF on social media: @NSF_GEO<\/a> and #NSFFunded<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The National Science Foundation has selected the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium, led by the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography, to operate a new oceanographic research ship, one of only three such vessels in the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2131,"featured_media":125879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[1783,629,1780,1777,593],"class_list":["post-125876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-national-oceanic-and-atmospheric-administration","tag-national-science-foundation","tag-office-of-naval-research","tag-r-v-endeavor","tag-research-vessel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125876"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130159,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125876\/revisions\/130159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}