NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN
Unique in the U.S. Civilian Fleet
Global Climate Research
Commissioned into the NOAA
fleet on July 19, 1997, the RONALD
H. BROWN brings new and unique capabilities to the nation's
environmental science community. The ship is designed to conduct
multidisciplinary scientific operations throughout the world's
oceans, and in 1999 conducted a 10-month cruise around the world
to study global climate variability. The ship and its crew participated
in seven major projects, supported 250 scientists from more than
50 institutions, and traveled more than 55,000 nautical miles.
Research conducted aboard this seagoing oceanographic and meteorological
data-collection platform is helping to lead to a greater understanding
of environmental processes and the profound interactions of the
oceans and atmosphere that affect global climate.
The RONALD H. BROWN provides
the capability of simultaneously measuring the deep ocean and
the atmosphere. Scientists, increasingly aware of the role the
oceans play in global climate, can now study the coupling that
occurs between the oceans and the atmosphere at the seaair interface.
As two-thirds of the Earth's atmosphere lie over the oceans,
the RONALD H. BROWN's data sampling capabilities are an important
augmentation and contribution to data collected by satellites
and other oceanographic ships.
What is unique to the RONALD
H. BROWN within the U.S. civilian oceanographic fleet is a weather
surveillance Doppler radar that measures atmospheric precipitation
and storm dynamics within a 150-mile radius of the ship; a wind
profiler that looks straight up into the atmosphere to determine
rainfall, wind speed, and wind direction up to six kilometers
above the surface of the ocean; and an upperair sounding system
which releases balloons with radiosondes that measure air temperature,
humidity, and winds at heights of 20 to 25 kilometers. These
systems, combined with the RONALD H. BROWN's other data collection
capabilities, are helping scientists better understand and predict
global changes on seasonal-to-interannual and decadel- to centennial
time scales. This, in turn, will lead to a tangible public benefit:
improved weather forecasting.
Multidisciplinary Research
The RONALD H. BROWN operates in both coastal and deep ocean areas.
In addition to atmospheric sciences, the ship supports missions
involving numerous disciplines, including physical, chemical,
and biological oceanography; environmental investigations; ocean
engineering; marine acoustics; marine geology and geophysics;
and survey tasks. The RONALD H. BROWN is involved in such research
as hydrothermal venting, which includes study of ancient microbial
organisms and volcanic processes; plate tectonics; health of
the ocean and atmosphere; measurement of methane and other chemicals
in the water column; formation of minerals; ocean-atmosphere
carbon exchange; and international and academic collaborative
investigations. The RONALD H. BROWN is also used to "ground
truth" satellite data, enabling precise calibration of the
satellites.
HighTech and Cost Efficient
The RONALD H. BROWN has nearly 4,000 square feet of laboratory
space; scientific and navigation equipment, including a multibeam
sonar system that provides a three-dimensional picture of the
sea floor in water depths up to 11,000 meters. The ship's onboard
computer system centrally manages the data collection function,
collecting the data streams from the individual instruments,
and storing the information for processing. The system provides
scientists the ability to process the data onboard and to transmit
it real time to shore-based facilities using state-of-the-art
satellite communications. From shore the data are available to
scientists worldwide via the Internet. In fact, anyone in the
worldeven school childrenwith access to the Internet
can download data collected by the RONALD H. BROWN. This capability
raises science at sea to a new level. Years ago, data were collected
by research ships and processed on shore. Later, ships became
equipped with laboratory facilities that enabled scientists to
process and analyze some data at sea. Now the data can be collected
at sea and analyzed in real-time on shore.
The RONALD H. BROWN's endurance
is 11,300 nautical miles and 30 days on station, allowing scientists
to extend their investigations to all the world's oceans. The
ship, usually away from home port 280 to 300 days per year, is
more cost efficient to operate and has greater endurance than
the older generation of oceanographic research vessels.
AGOR-24 Class
The RONALD H. BROWN was the third of a three-ship Naval Sea Systems
Command contract for AGOR-24 class oceanographic research ships.
NOAA provided funds to the Navy for construction of its ship.
The RONALD H. BROWN, the first ship constructed for NOAA in 17
years, was built by Halter Marine Inc. of Moss Point, Mississippi.
The RONALD H. BROWN's home port is in Charleston, S.C.
Originally to be called the RESEARCHER,
the RONALD H. BROWN was renamed in honor of the late Secretary
of Commerce who died in a plane crash in April 1996 while on
an overseas trade mission. The ship was christened by Mrs. Alma
Brown, the Secretary's widow, and launched on May 30, 1996.
The 274-ft. ship carries a complement
of five commissioned NOAA Corps officers, 21 crew, and up to
33 scientists. There are five laboratories on board: main lab,
hydro lab, electronics/computer lab, biochemical lab, and wet
lab. The main deck, with 3,500 sq. ft. of open working space,
is used primarily for mission support.
Office of Marine & Aviation
Operations
As part of NOAA's fleet of ships and aircraft, the RONALD H.
BROWN is operated and managed by officers and civilians of the
NOAA Marine and Aviation
Operations. The NOAA
Corps is a uniformed service of the United States, composed
of officersall scientists or engineerswho provide
NOAA with an important blend of operational, management, and
technical skills that support the agency's programs at sea, in
the air, and ashore.
For more information contact Jeanne
Kouhestani, public affairs, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, at (301) 713-3431, ext.
220, or visit our Web site at http://www.nmao.noaa.gov.
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Updated March 2003 |