Arctic Ocean Research and Supporting Facilities National Needs and Goals (1995) / Chapter Skim
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3 ARCTIC RESEARCH PLATFORMS
3 ARCTIC RESEARCH PLATFORMS
Pages 39-58
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From page 39... ...
Ice camps allow long timeseries drifting measurements, while field camps on land allow long-term studies in particular coastal locations. A research icebreaker provides the best opportunity for carrying large scientific parties and instrumentation to specific locations for sampling or experimentation and for interdisciplinary studies.
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From page 40... ...
U.S. Icebreakers A research vessel capable of icebreaking is uniquely qualified as a moveable laboratory that can transport scientists and equipment to polar regions; enable direct observations and in situ experiments in polar regions; sample and process large volumes of water, sediments, flora, and fauna; take vertical profiles of the water column in several locations within a limited time period; and collect biological samples of pelagic and benthic organisms.
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From page 41... ...
Although the Polar-class icebreakers (ABS class A5) were constructed to be able to work alone in the central Arctic Ocean, their science capabilities are less than those of the Healy or the ARV, and only the Russian nuclear icebreakers can operate without an escort in this area under all conditions.
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From page 42... ...
Based on the letters and reports made available to the committee, the arctic research community would prefer to use the proposed ARV, instead of the USCG vessels, because of the incompatibility of USCG missions with the needs of efficient scientific research. The primary missions of the U.S.
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From page 43... ...
The turnover of crew and technical support staff would be far less on the ARV than the Healy, because the only mission of the ARV would be science. The experience of the academic community is that the continuity, maturity, and experience of the support staff are particularly important for the maintenance of sophisticated instrumentation and equipment and to ensure a high likelihood of success on scientific cruises.
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From page 44... ...
, the advanced hull design of the ARV should provide icebreaking capability nearly equal to that of the Healy with two-thirds the horsepower and fuel consumption. However, the hull design of the ARV is not optimal for open-water performance, making the ARV poorly suited for alternating service in the arctic and antarctic regions.
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From page 45... ...
The problems most frequently cited by members of the science parties on recent USCG cruises relate to inexperienced crew, breakdowns and mechanical failures in the ship propulsion systems leading to loss of science time and spatial coverage in the ice, inadequate shipboard laboratory space on the Polar-class vessels, inadequate control of planning and operations as they affect science, and limitations on seasonal and spatial sampling. With reference to seasonal and spatial sampling, many U.S.
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From page 46... ...
The successful completion of hydrographic sections, biogeochemical stations, and deployment and recovery of moored instrumentation when faced with advancing ice makes operations inefficient and diminishes the scientific return from some cruises. The Alpha Helix does not provide access to the broad shelves of the Bering and Chukchi seas during the winter and the transitional seasons of ice advance and retreat.
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From page 47... ...
The use of such submarines as arctic research platforms is in its infancy. The Pargo carried a party of five scientists to the central Arctic Ocean, where a 21-day science program was conducted.
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From page 48... ...
They believed that an engineering effort costing many times less than the annual operating costs of a surface ship could make it possible for full-depth CTD and bottle sampling to become a relatively routine component of the submarine scientific cruises. The existing five-year program of one submarine cruise per year (likely to be a different vessel for each cruise)
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From page 49... ...
(With existing technology, the submarine systems used to measure temperature, salinity, and water chemistry are less accurate than the systems used aboard surface research vessels, and further development is needed.~; · synoptic seasonal chart of current directions and speeds in the upper waters of the Arctic Ocean; · basinwide synoptic surveys of the chemistry of the upper 200 m of the water column;
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From page 50... ...
· High-resolution vertical incidence seismic profiling Sea ice studies · Up-looking swath mapper of the ice bottom · Video imaging of the ice Biological oceanography · Submerged sampling capability · Midwater acoustic imaging capability · Underway ship-mounted color and turbidity sensors General · A computer-based integrated data management, quality control, and display system
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From page 51... ...
Ships and Submarines In considering the various scientific requirements and missions for surface research ships, there is also the additional question of whether some or most of these requirements can be met by the use of alternative platforms. It is obvious that alternative platforms may not be entirely satisfactory for some research projects.
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From page 52... ...
Because an orbital path will be over the world ocean from 60-75 percent of the time, ocean research applications could benefit greatly from this NASA initiative. The committee notes, however, that the orbital paths of potentially useful satellites are not now at sufficiently high latitudes to be of much assistance for research projects in the central Arctic.
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From page 53... ...
As with helicopters, smaller RPVs can be launched and recovered from ship or ice camp sites. Using remote television links to the base station, RPVs can scout ice conditions in the vicinity of the base, locate animals on the ice, and assist in search-andrescue operations.
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From page 54... ...
Although such charters have provided a wealth of new data and are highly cost effective for programs lacking the funds to support operations and research on the ocean for a large portion of every year, there are significant limitations. The laboratory space aboard such charters is often limited to modifications paid for as part of the charter.
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From page 55... ...
The cost of ice-camp-based studies can range from $600 to $4,000 per person per day, depending on such factors as the amount of support needed from ships and aircraft for a given experiment.' Helicopters Small helicopters can be carried aboard research vessels and can be staged from ice camps. Used for both research tasks and logistic support, these vehicles offer a high degree of mobility and operational flexibility.
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From page 56... ...
In the Arctic Ocean, ice cover provides a uniquely stable platform that can support autonomous instrumentation such as sophisticated electronics packages floating with the sea ice. Such systems can provide extensive time and space coverage of sea ice motions, surface air pressure and other meteorological parameters, ice temperature, ocean currents, and the temperature and salinity of the upper 400 m of the water column.
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From page 57... ...
They can be deployed from ships, submarines, ice camps, and helicopters. Programmed for specific missions, they will be able to make transits of several tens of kilometers at depths down to a few thousand meters.
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