University of Minnesota/RV Blue Heron Oceanographic Instrumentation 2020

A request is made to fund additional and back-up instrumentation for the R/V Blue Heron, an 86-foot Coastal research vessel owned by the University of Minnesota and operated by the Large Lakes Observatory as part of the US Academic Research Fleet (ARF). Built in 1985 for fishing on the Grand Banks, Blue Heron was purchased by the University of Minnesota in 1997. She is outfitted with state-of-the-art research equipment, has berthing for 11 crew and scientists, and can operate 24 hours per day for up to 21 days in between port calls. Blue Heron is part of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) and is available for charter by research scientists on any of the Great Lakes. In 2019, the vessel completed 81 funded days where 53 (66%) were for NSF. In 2020, Blue Heron is currently scheduled for 99 days, 84 of these (85%) will be for NSF. Oceanographic Instrumentation requested in this proposal includes:

1) 600kHz ADCP system $48,335

2) ADV System $29,730

$78,065

Broader Impacts

The principal impact of the present proposal is under Merit Review Criterion 2 of the Proposal Guidelines (NSF 19-602). It provides 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 acquisition, 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.

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.