Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Oceanographic Instrumentation (Moored Instrumentation to Support Present and Future Field Programs)

The Physical Oceanography Observing Laboratory (POOL) of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a virtual facility that maintains and provides moored instrumentation to U.S. investigators conducting research supported by the National Science Foundation and other national agencies. Component laboratory groups construct the mooring elements and prepare the sensors, go to sea to deploy and recover moorings and, if requested by the principal investigator, extract and process the data from the moored instrumentation and make them ready for scientific analysis. The present inventory of POOL instrumentation is fully committed to current, ongoing projects, greatly restricting the ability to support new initiatives in the future. Moreover, overlapping deployments now scheduled will result in a shortfall in some requested instruments. Acquisition of selected new moored sensors is requested here to address this shortfall and facilitate future field work. Instrumentation requested includes: EdgeTech 8242XS Release and Transponder $157,500 Nobska MAVS-5SD Acoustic Current Meter $130,750 Seabird 37SMP Microcat (pumped C,T, &P) $210,520 Nortek Aquadopp 6000 Current Meter $148,950 EdgeTech 8011M Command deck Unit $30,000 Dual Release Brackets $14,564 Misc labor, materials, IDC $47,497 $739,781 Year 1 $400,000 Year 2 $339,781 $739,781 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.