Research Cruise Proposal

Research Cruise Project
Due: June 6, 2017 at the beginning of class.
I. Proposal Title
Create a title that includes the topic being investigated and the location surveyed.
II. Overview
Include information on the research topic that you will investigate (fish larvae, pH
values, benthic communities, etc.). Then provide a summary about what will be
investigated and how it will be done.
See the Sample Cruise Proposal to get an idea what actual proposals look like.
III. Research Description
Include the following information:
A. Which research vessel (ship) will be used? Include a photo of the ship.
All the ships in the fleet, plus information about where they work and what
they
can
do,
are
posted
at
the
UNOLS
site:
https://www.unols.org/ships-facilities/unols-vessels
A general description about what each of the various ship classes is expected
to do is included in the attached Fleet Status Report (pages 12-13), but in
general:
Global Class ships are the largest and most capable with the ability to work
worldwide with large scientific parties and the longest endurance.
Ocean Class ships are slightly smaller than Global Class vessels and are
highly capable but typically work within an ocean basin. The Ocean Class
ships have slightly shorter endurance but are state‐ of‐ the‐ art platforms. This
Class includes the older and less‐ capable “Intermediate” ships that are being
phased out as they reach their End of Service Life, and the term
“Intermediate” is being eliminated from the Class title.
Regional Class ships are smaller than Ocean Class vessels and are
optimized for operation on the continental shelf and in the open
ocean of specific geographic regions.
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Research Cruise Project
Coastal/Local Class ships are a bit smaller and less expensive, and are
used for short projects, local institutional projects, and are readily available at
shorter notice than other classes of vessels.
B. All sampling equipment that will be needed (specific ROV, otter trawl nets,
CTD, etc.). Include photos of all of the equipment.
C. Sampling methods – describe how your sampling will take place (locations of
sample stations, depths, length of transects if done, etc.).
D. Cruise calendar – include dates of departure and return, dates at each station
and what will be sampled when. Your ship will depart from the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography pier in San Diego Bay and return to San Diego
Bay.
You will need to calculate these dates based off of your ship’s speed and
days on station. The cruise must be at least 9 days long. If you need more
time to reach your destination, you may budget up to 18 days.
Go to Google Maps to find the latitude and longitude of your sample stations
and the SIO port. Enter these coordinates into the following site to determine
distances: http://www.logisgroup.net/eng/seacalc/
This information needs to be presented in table form.
IV. Budget
Create a table showing the budget for your research cruise. Include the following in
your table: Name and class of ship, daily cost, and total cost.
How to Get Started
Use the 2013 Federal Fleet Report and Ship Costs files to help with this part of
your proposal.
You can view all of the actual research projects that have been funded by the National
Science Foundation, and by doing so search for projects that interest you.
If you search their award data base using the following link:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/simpleSearchResult?queryText=ship+time
You'll see thousands of successful awards that include ship time. You can narrow the
search if you refine results to the Directorate for Geosciences (which contains the
Ocean Sciences part of NSF), standard grants, in the state of California.
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