Ship and Science Requirements 



The following summary of trends of future research is abstracted from a UNOLS report. The 

 primary source documents for the research trends were the 1 982 Report of the NAS Ocean 

 Sciences Board, Academic Research Vessels 1985-1990, and the 1985 NSF/OCE Long-Range 

 Plan for Ocean Sciences, Emergence of a Unified Ocean Science. 



A. Physical Oceanography. Physical oceanography involves the study of mean and eddy 

 fluxes of energy, heat, freshwater, chemicals, and gases horizontally and vertically throughout 

 the oceans and exchanges at the ocean boundaries. In the coming decade, ships will remain the 

 primary method of observing the oceans at high resolution by deploying, and, in some cases, 

 recovering nontethered instruments. As research progresses, the instrumentation must become 

 more sophisticated; this calls for state-of-the-art technology in cranes and winches, 

 ship-to-shore communications, and shipboard computers. 



A few decades ago, it was standard practice to infer ocean motions and mixing from limited 

 measurements of water temperature, salinity, and perhaps oxygen and nutrient content. Today, 

 physical oceanographers are using a variety of new and developing instrumental techniques 

 (floats, moored arrays, acoustics) for direct measurements over an increasing spectrum of time 

 and space scales. Coupled to this are water column measurements which are expanding greatly in 

 density and type, including the use of stable and unstable isotopes and natural and man-made 

 tracers. These expanding and diversifying measurement requirements point clearly to the need 

 for larger ships with more laboratory, deck, and berthing space; increased shipboard data 

 acquisition, processing, and analysis capabilities; better equipped and cleaner laboratories; and 

 larger complements of scientists and technicians. 



Physical oceanographic research complements chemical and biological studies. As the need 

 increases for more interdisciplinary field work, so will the heavy demand for more laboratory 

 space. 



B. Chemical Oceanography. Future chemical oceanographic programs may be considered 

 under the broad categories of tracers of ocean processes, exchange and fluxes, and reaction 

 mechanisms. 



Recent advances in laboratory analytical techniques enable a look at increasingly more stable 

 trace elements and organic species that offer exciting possibilities as tracers of biological and 

 biochemical processes. Oceanic distributions of many of these species are still largely unknown. 

 An important aspect of these studies is the need for high density sampling and analyses in 

 selected horizontal and vertical profiles. Many measurements are aliased because sampling 

 frequency has been too sparse to represent the natural variability. The development of profiling 

 tools and automated analytical techniques will be required for these studies. 



Distribution of chemicals in the ocean is central to understanding fluxes that are taking place at 

 important ocean boundary regions and within the ocean's interior. The ability to assess the 

 climatic record or implications of pollutant dispersion is dependent on a knowledge of materials 

 exchanged at the air-sea interface. This calls for sampling locations uncontaminated by the 

 vessel or nearby environment. 



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