At Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and throughout the oceanographic research, the observation, measurement, and collection of samples and data are accomplished at sea on a global scale by operations aboard seagoing research vessels. National Science Foundation (NSF) support for scientific instruments aboard oceanographic research vessels enables NSF-supported scientists to project their ability to observe, measure and sample the planet worldwide, facilitating scientific endeavor across a broad range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geology, geophysics, physics, atmospheric sciences, and many others.

This award supported the procurement of scientific instruments to be used aboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Roger Revelle, as well as portable instrumentation that can be used by NSF-supported scientists aboard any vessels in the Academic Research Fleet.  All were important to maintain measurement and observation capabilities required for research programs supported by the NSF during 2020 and beyond. Specifically, this award supported a replacement deep-water multibeam echosounder system (MBES) for R/V Roger Revelle, as well as a portable precision salinometer that can be used on any vessel in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.

A deep-water MBES is a primary instrument for many NSF-supported users of global class research vessels, and a secondary instrument for most others. Whether surveying a mooring site for physical oceanographers, using bathymetry and backscatter to assess areas for dredging or coring for geologists, imaging the midwater for gas plumes or biomass in the water column, or seafloor mapping for tectonics, volcanology or benthic habitat mapping, the bathymetry and imagery provided by a deep-water multibeam echosounder is a key enabling technology that adds significant value to NSF's scientific enterprise.

High-precision, high-accuracy salinity measurements from water samples, carried out in shipboard environments, are crucial for our understanding of the circulation and response to environmental changes in the sub-thermocline oceans (sub-halocline waters in polar regions). These instruments are critically important to understanding temporal variations in abyssal salinity, which are very difficult to verify due to the troublesome nature of making the highest quality salinity measurements at sea.  Recent technical advances have resulted in new shipboard salinometers, including the model supported by this award, which routinely produce higher quality data at sea than was previously achievable in the best shore-based laboratories.

Intellectual merit:  SIO-operated ships and technical services have played a critical role in the exploration and understanding of our planet since 1907, and continue to contribute significantly to the U.S. ocean research effort. The instruments supported by this award are operated on a shared-use basis to enable NSF-supported scientists to observe, measure and sample the planet worldwide, facilitating scientific endeavors across a range of disciplines. The intellectual merit of this proposal is amplified by the combined merit of the many individual research projects undertaken by scientists who use these instruments. This award supported the procurement of scientific instruments to be used aboard the Global Class Research Vessel Roger Revelle, as well as portable instrumentation that can be used by NSF-supported scientists aboard any vessels in the Academic Research Fleet. Individual scientific programs that use these instruments are selected through NSF's peer review processes, and each program is directed by its own Principal Investigator with unique objectives, outcomes and intellectual merit. 

Broader impacts:   The instruments supported by this award have been integrated into our community's shared-use research and education infrastructure, which is managed following NSF guidelines to be strongly collaborative, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional. As a charter member of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), SIO is actively involved in coordinating research operations with scientists and funding agencies so shipboard capabilities can best meet the current and anticipated research needs of the entire community. Through UNOLS, SIO marine technical support personnel collaborate with colleagues at other institutions to broadly communicate best practices, lessons learned, and operational practices that benefit the entire U.S. research community. The spectrum of research projects enabled by SIO's marine technical services achieves far-reaching broader impacts through the operation and maintenance of infrastructure that is critical to the promotion of training and learning, increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in research, advancing scientific and technological understanding, and informing policy making. The instruments supported by this award are now operated by SIO's marine technical services department, and leverage institutional programs that advance NSF's mission to promote achievement and progress in science, engineering and education for the benefit of the nation. In the five-year period ending in 2020, 978 graduate students and 864 undergraduate students, and 12 K12 and college educators obtained firsthand experience at sea aboard SIO-operated research vessels. The instruments enable graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and early career faculty to pursue independent research and instruction at sea. As shared-use resources available to all NSF-supported scientists, this instruments have a tremendously broad impact because they enable education, training and outreach missions of the home institutions of each scientist.

Last Modified: 09/28/2021
Modified by: Bruce Appelgate