In July, the Marine National Facility and the Future Research Vessel Project teams were at the AMSA-NZMSS Conference in Hobart to tell delegates about the amazing research capabilities of RV Investigator.
The call for applications to use Investigator in 2014-15 went out. A brief pre-proposal needed to be submitted by 27 July 2012 and full applications submitted by 24 August 2012. Further details on applying for use of Investigator and application forms were made available through the MNF website www.marine.csiro.au/nationalfacility/Investigator/index.htm.
Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor, returned to the Southern Ocean for a pilot project to measure the air-sea exchange of heat, moisture, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the sub-Antarctic ocean, and at the same time to test the continuing ability of moored instruments to withstand the roughest ocean conditions anywhere. Southern Surveyor deployed three moored measuring systems to be anchored at a depth of nearly five kilometres, 580km south-west of Tasmania.
Investigator’s propulsion motor was built, tested, approved and shipped from Spain to Singapore. Here are some of the team members who made this possible, standing next to the motor.
We held the monthly safety incentive awards ceremony at the shipyard and celebrated the ongoing effort everyone’s putting into make it a safe place to work. To date we were maintaining zero Lost Time Injuries (LTI), which meant no lost time due to an accident or injury. At the time, when you add up all the hours everyone’s put in, that was over 450,000 man hours!
CSIRO’s Dr Melita Keywood and Dr Sarah Lawson told us all about the new and exciting atmospheric research possibilities on Investigator: RV Investigator will have a two dedicated laboratories for atmospheric research:
- Aerosol laboratory located at the bow of the ship
- Air chemistry laboratory adjacent to the foredeck
Air will be drawn into the laboratories via an aerosol sampling mast (part of foremast) with an inlet located 24 m above the sea surface, which point into the direction of the wind. Various instruments will be mounted on the foremast for the measurement of sea-air fluxes and a weather radar will compliment the range of detailed meteorological observations that will be routinely made. Sites for two containers on the foredeck will supply laboratory space for intensive measurement campaigns. Atmospheric research on board the RV Investigator will take the form of ‘routine’ climate tracking observations and mission driven campaign experiments.
And, we saw the latest photos from the shipyard.
