HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
[ RETURN TO MAIN LIST ] • [ CONTACT PRESS RELATIONS ] • [ EMAIL STORY ] • [ PRINT PAGE ]
NEW REPORT RECOMMENDS EXPANDED FUNDING FOR HARBOR BRANCH SUBMERSIBLES AND IMPROVED DEEP SEA ACCESS

NOTE: In conjunction with the release of this report, HARBOR BRANCH is offering reporters the opportunity to tour one of its research submersibles. See details below.

November 14, 2003 -- Ft.Pierce, FL -- The National Academy of Sciences has just released a report calling on the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide new funding to support undersea research vehicles such as the HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution's Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles, and for the construction of new undersea vehicles. These recommendations are based on the conclusion that while deep-sea research using undersea vehicles has enabled monumental scientific advances in geology, biology, medicine, and other fields, the scientific communities growing need for access to the deep ocean is not being adequately met.

The report, commissioned by the NSF to guide it in applying $25 million in budgeted funds to improving ocean access, is part of a growing wave of interest in ocean issues at the federal level. This movement will culminate with the release, expected early next year, of a report by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which is reviewing all aspects of the country's ocean-related activities and interests, and will likely echo the new report's recommendations.

Congress plans to begin work soon on what it is informally calling the "Big Ocean Bill," or BOB, which will offer a plan to appropriate funds necessary to realize the vision for ocean policy outlined in the reports.

"It's an exciting time to be involved in ocean sciences," says HARBOR BRANCH's Vice-President and Director of Research Dr. Shirley Pomponi, who was one of the new deep-sea vehicles report's authors. "It's like a perfect stormÑbut in a good sense--because there's a convergence of many recommendations that are being considered by Congress and federal funding agencies that highlight common themes regarding important issues in ocean science," she says.

One of those common themes is the need for expanded and improved access to the ocean, 95% of which remains unexplored, for instance to search for organisms that produce chemicals with the potential to cure human diseases. HARBOR BRANCH's Johnson-Sea-Link research submersibles, which have played a key role in such searches, are available for use by grant-funded researchers from any institution. However, currently researchers that wish to use these human occupied vehicles (HOVs) cannot receive funding to do so through the NSF operation budget, the countries main funding source for basic ocean science. Some funding through NOAA and the Office of Naval Research is available to support such work, but this is very limited.

Instead, all of NSF's funding for undersea vehicles goes to the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF), based at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which operates the Navy-owned Alvin research submersible made famous during early exploration of the Titanic wreck, and other vehicles such as the advanced ROV Jason II.

The report, sponsored by the NSF, recommends that that system be changed and points out that not only are NDSF resources not sufficient for supporting all the nation's deep-sea needs, the Alvin submersible is also not well-suited for certain activities. Specifically, Alvin has only small portholes for viewing, and it cannot hover at a given depth without dropping heavy lead weights, making stops at various depths on a single dive difficult.

The Johnson-Sea-Links, while not designed to dive as deep as Alvin, do not have these particular limitations because their clear front viewing spheres allow panoramic visibility, and their buoyancy is controlled without dropping weights. Because non-NDSF vehicles can in certain cases be more suitable for a given research program, the reports authors recommended that the NSF make funds for research using such vehicles available as soon as possible. Such a policy would meet the needs of certain scientists unable to access Alvin and shift scientists whose needs might best be met by other vehicles to free up Alvin for other research.

"This is very good news for HARBOR BRANCH and for the users of the Johnson-Sea-Links because if the study's recommendations are accepted there will now be a mechanism in place to allow us to get NSF funding," says Pomponi.

The report also calls for construction of a replacement for Alvin with improved capabilities and the ability to dive to 21,000 feet. Another key conclusion of the report, which was produced by a panel of scientists and engineers with a wide range of backgrounds, was that human-occupied submersibles will continue to play vital roles in advancing understanding of the oceans for the foreseeable future. In the past, some have suggested that remotely operated vehicles might eliminate the need for such vehicles.

The NSF currently has $25 million budgeted to improve and expand its undersea vehicle resources, and the new report was commissioned to provide the organization with specific recommendations on how best to apply those funds.

The new report, titled "Future Needs in Deep Submergence Science: Occupied and Unoccupied Vehicles in Basic Ocean Research," complements a report produced by a separate panel vice-chaired by Dr. Pomponi and released last week called "Exploration of the Seas: Voyage Into the Unknown" that also recommended expansion of the nation's deep-sea vehicle fleet to support expanded exploration of the world's oceans.

On Friday, Nov. 14, reporters are invited to tour two of HARBOR BRANCH's research submersibles inside and out and speak with Dr. Pomponi as well as Don Liberatore, chief submersible pilot. Tours and interviews can also be arranged for next week. To participate, please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu. Photos and B-roll of the subs are available.

For the National Academy of Sciences' press release on the report, go to: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309091144?OpenDocument

To download portions of the report, go to: http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10854.html?onpi_newsdoc11120
[ RETURN TO MAIN LIST ] • [ CONTACT PRESS RELATIONS ] • [ EMAIL STORY ] • [ PRINT PAGE ]
HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.

Display the top matches that score at least