Oceanographic Technical Services, R/V Kilo Moana, 2012-2016

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

University of Hawaii proposes to support technical services on R/V Kilo Moana (KM), a 185? general purpose research vessel operated as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research fleet. The proposal requests support for basic services and specialized services. For basic services, they will provide two shipboard technicians on each cruise on R/V Kilo Moana to support seagoing research projects and to maintain, calibrate and provide for qualified users items from their pool of shared-use research instrumentation. The Institution also supports some operations on the R/V Ka`imikai O Kanaloa (KOK), which is not a UNOLS vessel, but does support some federally sponsored research, including some for NSF. As specialized services, they offer two towed seafloor mapping systems (HAWAII MR1 and IMI-30) for shallow- or deep-towed imaging and bathymetry, and they provide services to evaluate the quality of data from acoustic current profilers installed on UNOLS vessels as well as continue to support a flee-wide ADCP standardization and quality control oversight program. The budget included with this proposal is for the first year of a 5-year continuing grant. Broader Impacts The principal impact of the present proposal is under criterion two, providing infrastructure support for scientists to use the vessel and its shared-use instrumentation in support of their NSF-funded oceanographic research projects (which individually undergo separate review by the relevant research program of NSF). The support of maintenance and operation of shared-use instrumentation allows NSF-funded researchers from any US university or lab access to working, calibrated instruments for their research, reducing the cost of that research, and expanding the base of potential researchers.