Scientific Equipment
The RONALD H. BROWN supports a large suite of sensors for meteorological and oceanographic data acquisition. This sensor suite is supported by 2 high-powered Dell Servers (primary and backup). A well developed ethernet computer network integrates nearly all of the shipboard computers, including several NT4 Servers and Workstations along with other specialized computer platforms.
The shipboard network and computer systems aboard are one of the RONALD H. BROWN's greatest assets. The up-to-date shipboard computers and software are used for everything from sensor acquisition and data analysis to administration and payroll. Intranet services support many network applications. The two basic categories of shipboard computers are scientific and administrative.
Nearly all of the ship's sensors are integrated into the Scientific Computing System (SCS), which allows for centralized data acquisition and logging from numerous sensors with different sampling rates. One central data set of all sensors is logged continuously, and user-specified subsets of sensor data and independent sampling rates may also be logged simultaneoulsly. All data are time stamped from the ship's high-precision UTC clock and GPS navigation parameters can be easily included within any data set. SCS data can be accessed with feature-rich software from workstations throughout the ship-wide network. Details for individual shipboard sensors and systems are provided below. Temporary installation of additional mission-specific sensors and systems within SCS is also possible.
Scientists should inquire before mounting an instrument as placement of a new insturment may interfere with the operation of an existing instrument. For example: use of a mode for bottom tracking on LADCP can possibly interfere with other bottom acquisition tracking (pinger) devices, GPS antenna ground planes may be shadowed by other antennae or voltage drops in line runs from splitting signals.
The calibration policy for the following scientific equipment can be found on the Equipment Calibration Policy page. More information about specific ship equipment can be found on the Communications Equipment and Navigation Equipment pages.
Use your browser's BACK button to return to this pull down menu.
NOAA/ETL is the mentor for this radar and will operate it on a funds-available basis for climate research or for other sponsors (e.g., NASA TRMM program). Projects needing to use the radar may do so, but they need to work with ETL to gain access, be trained, etc. Contact Daniel Wolfe (Tel. 303-497-6204 or Daniel.Wolfe@noaa.gov). Because of the high cost of operating and maintaining the radar, a nominal fee of $10,000 per month is required, payable to NOAA/ETL. Ship's technicians will assist projects when possible, but they cannot be expected to operate or maintain the radar. Training is available at additional cost through ETL, Sigmet, and/or Radtec.
This 300-kw peak power Doppler weather radar built by Radtec Engineering, Inc. (Broomfield, Colorado) is a rare and important observing instrument for Class I research vessels. It operates at a frequency of 5595 MHz, or 5.4 cm wavelength, under control of Sigmet software. The 4.3 meter diameter transmit/receive dish is located atop the ship's central mast under an 5.5 meter diameter radome, one of the ship's signature features. The 1.0 deg radar beam can be scanned continuously throughout the upper hemisphere, except near zenith. Compensation for ship motion is provided via a dedicated high-speed (100 Hz) inertial navigation unit. Data are recorded on a DDS3 DAT drive on the radar's control workstation in the chart room, just aft of the bridge. A separate analysis workstation is available in the computer lab for real-time display and post analysis of recorded data. Access to mission data are controlled by mission PIs in accordance with normal collegial practice.
Additional information about this radar can be found in this PDF document.
NOAA/ETL is the mentor for this radar. It is to be operated solely as a project instrument, meaning it will be turned off when not required by projects or PIs. Projects needing to use the radar may do so, but they must work with ETL to gain access, be trained, etc. Contact Daniel Wolfe (Tel. 303-497-6204 or Daniel.Wolfe@noaa.gov). A fee of $3000 per month, payable to NOAA/ETL, is required for its use, to defer costs for maintenance and consultation. Ship's technicians will assist if possible, but cannot be expected by PIs to operate or maintain the radar. Training (if needed) can be provided by ETL at additional cost.
This 915-MHz radar wind profiler, whose antenna and transmitter are located immediately forward of the aft winch house (starboard side), can be used to continuously monitor wind profiles in the troposphere. This is an electronically-stabilized system that uses advanced signal processing and the same high-speed inertial navigation unit as the C-Band radar for ship motion compensation. System computers are located in the main computer lab near the TerraScan satellite receiver workstation; wind data may be viewed there in real time. Typically, the user selects from among several high or low modes, with trade-offs in height resolution, height coverage, and time resolution. Earth-relative wind profiles are displayed in real time. Data (spectra, spectral moments, and/or met products) are recorded to a JAZ (2 GByte) drive. Access to mission data are controlled by mission PIs in accordance with normal collegial practice.
Radiosondes
NOAA/PSD is the mentor for the Vaisala GPS-based sounding systems used on the BROWN. The two systems (MW-15 and MW-31) available are kept
in Boulder when not in use on the ship. Both systems have been upgraded to handle the new RS-92 digital sondes. Contact Daniel Wolfe (Tel.
303-497-6204 or Daniel.Wolfe@noaa.gov) for further information or to schedule their use. A fee of $1000 per month, payable to NOAA/PSD, is
requested for use of these systems, to defer costs of shipping, maintenance and consultation. Ship's technicians can possibly assist
projects in training, system operation, sonde launches, data recording, etc., but arrangements must be made well ahead of time to properly
schedule work loads.
PIs are cautioned to order the required number of GPS sondes from Vaisala at least six months prior to the mission, at a cost of
approximately $180 per sonde. Also, helium and balloons must be provided by the project. Helium can be very difficult to obtain outside CONUS,
and demurrage charges can be high. Any helium cylinder loaded onto the ship must bear a current safety inspection marking, and shipping of
cylinders to and from the ship must be arranged and paid by projects. Be sure to keep the FOO or XO informed of all helium arrangements (<FOO.Ronald.Brown@noaa.gov> <XO.Ronald.Brown@noaa.gov>).
The Ocean Data Equipment Corporation (ODEC) Bathy 2000 is a flexible dual frequency (3.5K/12 KHz) bathymetric sub-bottom survey system. The 12 KHz deep/shallow bottom profiler provides single beam depth data to 10,000 m for bottom profiling or for tracking acoustic pingers in the water column. The 3.5 KHz sub-bottom profiler uses an array of transducers to provide shallow sub-bottom penetration with a 35 degree beam in water depths to 10,000 m. The depth and signal strength data are logged to the ship's data acquisition system (SCS) and can also be logged to a Jaz Drive. Display output can be directed to a color inkjet printer. ** As of October 16, 2004, the Bathy 2000 is down, there is no date as to when it will be repaired. **
Two shallow water Raytheon RD-500. Each unit operates at a frequency of 80 KHz, and is most effective in water depths less than 1000 m. The RD-500 can be used as a "fish finder" or to detect acoustic returns below the ship. The data is displayed on a dry type 204 mm wide paper and also on a digital display with a range of up to 99.9 scale divisions in steps of 1/10 of scale unit. Unit of measurement can be feet, meters or fathoms. One unit is located on the bridge and is strictly for navigational purposes. The second unit located in the Computer Lab is for scientific use.
Seabeam 2112 (12 Khz) swath bathymetric sonar system. The system, originally used for high accuracy (Seabeam Classic) charting of the U.S. Exclusize Economic Zone (EEZ), is capable of hydrographic charting and seafloor acoustic backscatter imaging in water depths of 50 to 11,000 meters with up to 151 beams. Swath coverage varies as a function of depth, from 150 degrees at 1,000 meters, to 120 degrees at 5,000 meters, and 90 degrees at 11,000 meters, with a resolution of two degrees. The system regularly operates in 4000+ meters of water but is effective in shallower applications (less than 500m). The swath of coverage on the ocean floor is approximately 75% of the water depth. The system operates at an acoustic frequency of 12 KHz and uses transducer arrays that are flush-mounted on the hull in a T-shaped configuration centered on the ship's keel. The Silicon Graphics, Incorporated (SGI) IRIX menu driven software used by Seabeam runs on a Silicon Graphics (SG) O2 computer (175 mhz / 256 mg memory). Real time trackline information is displayed on a SG O2 computer. Sea View plotting package, Sealogger, Seasurvey_adv are used to create and display real time contour plots on the SG O2. Postprocessing produces contour plots and smoothed plots of the area charted. Additional plotting capabilities are provided on an EPC digital graphic recorder, HP-1600 printer and an HP-750 printer. Seabeam image of Blake's Escarpment. In 2003, the BROWN will be upgrading from the Unix processed Seabeam to Windows integrated processing. ** As of October 16, 2004, the Seabeam system is not functioning properly, there is no date as to when it will be repaired. **
COMPUTERS, NETWORK AND SOFTWARE
The central components of the RONALD H. BROWN's computer system are two (primary and backup) Dell Servers. The systems are identical in set-up and configuration, so that in the event of a failure of the primary system, the backup system can resume scientific data acquisition with minimal data loss. The system operates in a Microsoft NT windows environment.
The primary node is used for data acquistion from a suite of nearly one-hundred real time and derived scientific sensors. The primary function of this system is to run the Scientific Computer System (SCS) software.
In addition to the Dell servers, workstations are located throughout the ship including the Bridge, Main Lab, Hydro Lab, Bio Lab, and Computer Lab. If needed, the workstations can be relocated to better meet scientific requirements. The Dell servers are connected to all other nodes using a combined fiber optic and twisted-pair copper ethernet network throughout the vessel. This networking makes data transfer throughout the vessel simple and efficient. TCP/IP is the preferred protocol for the PC's.
The primary function of the computer systems is to fulfill the data requirements as outlined in the project instructions; however, limited access is available to personnel for projects not directly related to the mission.
A variety of storage media are available on the public PC's including Iomega Zip's, JAZ drives, and DAT tapes.
Twenty-eight node PC Local Area Network running NT 4.0 Server and Windows 2000 operating systems. Most of the PC's have dedicated functions for shipboard personnel but several are available for scientific parties on a shared basis. In addition, if sufficient demand exists, important PC's brought aboard by the scientific party can be added to the network. The RONALD H. BROWN also has the capability to provide limited network services to Macintosh and UNIX platforms within the Windows NT ethernet system.
The PC network utilizes shared resources such as postscript printers, virtual disk drives, tape drives, CD-RW. The network is used extensively for the sharing of message traffic and data (IS).
The Scientific Computer System (SCS) software was developed at NOAA Headquarters specifically for the NOAA fleet. SCS is a data acquisition and processing system designed for oceanographic and fisheries applications. The C++ based software package is run through point and click menu bars. The SCS package utilizes Graphical User Interface (GUI) technology in the form of time series graphs and directly calls ArcView graphing capabilities.
SCS is networked throughout the ship and is capable of sending data displays to remote stations (SCS NT Client) nearly anywhere on the ship. In addition, ASCII data strings can be sent via RS-232 cable or over the ethernet. Data from just about every sensor (list of sensors currently logged to SCS) can be sent to any available port/node on the network. The SCS workstations can provide time series graphs of all acquired data to monitor any changes. Several variables can be plotted against each other in real time X-Y plots. Data can be output in a wide variety of formats. Data output formats include:
Sensor Placement - The MET sensors on the IMET tower are 10 meters above the water line; these include: wind and direction, and rain gauges. The air temp/RH sensor is roughly 30-40 cm below that (so approx. 9.6 m above waterline).
Installed, calibrated digital barometer outputting in millibars, which is connected to SCS and is available for scientific use.
A set of Woods Hole manufactured IMET sensors are installed. The sensors include wind speed/direction, temperature/humidity, rain gauge, short-wave and long-wave radiation, and sea-surface temperature. These sensors are calibrated annually. Their calibration values are incorporated on their onboard ROMs and the data that they output is in calibrated values. The data from the IMET sensors are recorded on SCS and are available for scientific use.
In addition to the IMET gauge, an assortment of ten additional rain gauges are installed in various locations on the 02, 03 and 05 decks of the ship. Seven of the sensors are siphon rain gauges and are set up to output their reading in raw millivolt readings. Two of the sensors are optical and are set up to output their reading in millimeters per hour. A single Hasse rain guage provides calculated horizontal, vertical, and azimuthal components of rainfall utilizing an integrated anemometer. All of the rain sensor data are recorded on SCS and are available for scientific use.
Raytheon model DSN-450 dual axis, four beam, pulsed doppler sonar at a frequency of 200 KHz, with each beam being 5 degrees conical and 30 degrees from the vertical. The output of the speed log is routed to remote displays located on the bridge, aft bridge and the computer lab. The output is also routed to the ship's dynamic positioning system, that uses this input and further routes this information to the Seabeam system and to SCS.
Measurement Technology winch instrumentation displays for both the traction and hydrographic winch systems. These displays will display wire out in meters, feed rate in meters per minute and wire tension in pounds. These readings are also output to SCS for archival and are available for scientific use.
The RD Instruments (RDI), Model VM-150-18HP, 153.6 KHz narrow band acoustic doppler current profiler provides vertical profiles of ocean current, speed and directon at depths up to 380 m. The RDI software, version 2.48 running on an associated 386 computer displays the real time data. The syncro heading input from the gyro is permanently attached to the above deck electronics. Data is recorded on an external 100 mb zip drive and available for scientific use.
NOTE: RONALD H. BROWN and the University of Hawaii (UH) ADCP group have an informal agreement regarding ADCP ping data. This agreement is intended to allow us to monitor the quality of the data, thereby providing an assurance of continued high ADCP data quality on board. If UH has time (this is an unfunded activity), UH processes the data, with the hope of rescuing otherwise "lost" ADCP datasets. The data is available to the public via the website at: http://currents.soest.hawaii.edu/ron_brown.
For many projects, the ADCP data has no particular bearing on the science conducted, and for these projects, UH requests permission to make plots of the data available on the previously mentioned website and to release the data to the SOEST/NODC Joint Archive for Shipboard ADCP. There may be Chief Scientists who want to retain their two-year proprietary right over the data, and UH will not ignore their preference. If a Chief Scientist or Lab has collected ADCP data during their cruise and wish it to remain inaccessible for two years, please let UH know as soon as possible; in any case, within 6 weeks. Chief Scientists are typically sent a note or e-mail to obtain their permission to release data. No response from a Chief Scientist to this request is taken as tacit permission. Permission from them is only a guarantee that UH will back up their data, not a promise to process it.
UH does not promise any particular level of processing support on these cruises. UH will attempt to keep an eye on the quality of the data in order to inform the ship of any problems that might occur. If time permits, UH will process the data. The data, which are released, will be processed with respect, but not as thoroughly as they would be if funded directly from project funds.
Two Guildline model 8400B auto salinometers for precision salinity calculation in a temperature controlled airlock style entry room. The room also is equipped with a deep sink and a small desk.
Seabird Electronics Model 9/11+ CTD system in a 12-position rosette frame with a seabird SBE-32 submersible array firing assembly. The SBE 9+ underwater assembly has a depth capacity of 6800 meters and a dual conductivity/temperature sensor pair. The SBE 11+ deck unit is connected to a VHS VCR for raw data recording and a networked computer with the capability of printing color plots. The computer is running Seabird data collection software. ** Please note, the ship's CTD is to be used as a backup only, scientific parties must provide their own CTD units. **
The RONALD H. BROWN has a spare SBE 9+ underwater unit with a single conductivity/temperature pair. The CTD system is capable of interfacing through either of the two ship's hydrographic winches. There are two 12 KHz pingers available for use with this system.
Installed inline Turner Fluorometer with it's data output to SCS and is available for scientific use.
Seabird Electronics SBE-21 thermosalinograph plumbed in at the bow capable of measuring the conductivity and temperature of the water from 5.6 meters below the water line. This data is recorded on SCS and is available for scientific use.
Installed a Sippican MK-12 XBT system with a portable launcher that is available for scientific use. The user must supply XBT probes.
• Return to BROWN's Science Page or Home Page
• Return to Marine Operations Home Page
• Inquires and Comments
• URL: http://www.moc.noaa.gov/rb/science/equipment.htm
• Updated: November 19, 2004