Ship Operations R/V Atlantic Explorer

Bermuda Institute Of Ocean Sciences (Bios), Inc., St. George'S

Investigators

Abstract

Funding is requested for Ship Operations support for the Research Vessel Atlantic Explorer for the period from 2018 with a five-year budget until the end of 2022. R/V Atlantic Explorer is a general-purpose research ship owned and operated by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and is part of the Academic Research Fleet (ARF). BIOS is a U.S. 501 (c) 3 and 509 (a) not-for profit research and educational institution incorporated in the state of New York, and geographically located on the island of Bermuda. The mission of the ship is to support funded science research. RV Atlantic Explorer has 204 days funded in 2018. This proposal supports scientific users of R/V Atlantic Explorer, and primarily NSF funded research projects. The major research projects that use R/V Atlantic Explorer are oceanographic time-series efforts, ancillary users of the ship conducting independent and collaborative research through opportunities provided to sample the deep ocean, and independent users of the ship undertaking research in the North Atlantic Ocean. R/V Atlantic Explorer supports scientific research and technology development that improves scientific knowledge of societal relevant environmental issues. The oceanographic time- series and other scientific research programs directly contribute to improved understanding of such global issues as: (1) global climate change; (2) the complex interaction and feedback between climate phenomena, global warming, ocean biogeochemistry and ecosystem variability and health; (3) ocean warming, stratification, and ocean deoxygenation; and, (4) the variability of greenhouse gases such as CO2, the exchange of CO2 between ocean and atmosphere, variability of carbon sources and sinks, and ocean acidification. The mission of the ship is to support funded science research. The vessel is scheduled for 204 days at sea in 2018. These days are primarily in support of National Science Foundation funded science. R/V Atlantic Explorer will support scientific research in the oligotrophic subtropical gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean. This region is an important modulator of the oceanic cycling of biogeochemical (N, P) and radiatively important elements (e.g., CO2), air-sea heat and salt transport as well as climate. The ease of access to these deep waters has allowed R/V Atlantic Explorer to significantly contribute to national efforts to improve our understanding of ocean processes. Three nationally and internationally important oceanographic time-series programs have and will be supported by R/V Atlantic Explorer operations, including: (1) Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) research program begun in 1988; (2) Hydrostation S research program begun in 1954, and; (3) Ocean Flux Program (OFP) begun in 1978 This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.