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NSF funds Alaska region research vessel
The National Science Foundation’s first major award under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go to help construct the Alaska region research vessel, a 242-foot ship to be operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
A May 27 statement from the office of Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said the vessel has a hull specifically designed to operate in seasonal Arctic sea ice and the open waters surrounding Alaska.
“This research vessel will be a boon to science and the State of Alaska and will help solidify the University of Alaska’s pre-eminence as America’s Arctic university,” Begich said. “This ship will help scientists better understand climate change, ocean acidification, the melting of the Arctic Ice Cap and the impacts on our fisheries and communities.”
UAF selected in 2007 UAF was selected by NSF in 2007 to lead the construction and operation of the vessel, including all tests and science trials. The ship is expected to be completed in 2013, with science operations beginning in 2014. According to UAF’s proposal, the ship will be headquartered out of the Seward Marine Center.
“We are pleased that our first major award under the Recovery Act will allow NSF to invest in such a large-scale project that will have immediate and long-term benefits to the American economy,” said NSF Director Arden Bement Jr. “With rapid changes occurring in the Arctic region, the ARRV will greatly improve our ability to monitor and assess these changes in a timely and safe manner for the benefit of our nation and the world.”
According to the NSF and UAF, the research vessel will be the first in the U.S. academic research fleet capable of breaking ice up to 2.5 feet thick, and will open up the ice-choked waters of the Alaska region to scientists from all over the world. It will carry more than 500 researchers and students annually. The three-year construction phase of the project will support 4,350 jobs; 750 directly at the shipyard and as many as 3,600 in the broader economy. The NSF has stated it will make sure the ARRV is built in a U.S. shipyard.
—Petroleum News
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