Contact: Jeanne Kouhestani FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/10/96
Shortly after completing an around-the-globe scientific research cruise, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel MALCOLM BALDRIGE was decommissioned after 26 years of service, the Commerce Department agency announced.
Earlier this year the MALCOLM BALDRIGE successfully completed a year-long scientific expedition to gather critical data on the ocean's role in global climate change, global warming and the El Niño phenomenon. This research is providing a sound scientific base for understanding ocean-atmosphere exchange processes and their effects on climate and climate change in the Atlantic, Indian and Equatorial Pacific oceans.
"MALCOLM BALDRIGE has served NOAA's mission well during her many years of service, providing an exemplary seagoing platform with the state-of-the-art scientific equipment, laboratory space, and other highly-specialized capabilities needed to do physical, chemical, biological, geophysical, meteorological, and other landmark environmental research," said Rear Admiral William L. Stubblefield, director of the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, which manages and operates NOAA's fleet of ships and aircraft.
"BALDRIGE'S history is a tapestry of adventure and accomplishment. But BALDRIGE is more than that -- she is a symbol of the tradition and spirit that took root in 1807 when Jefferson established the Coast Survey [NOAA Corp's ancestor organization] -- a tradition in not just getting the job done, but getting it done better and faster; and a spirit that adapted to ever-present changes, overcoming all difficulties and challenges, and bringing excellence in service to the nation."
Fourteen commissioned NOAA Corps officers have commanded the BALDRIGE since the ship was commissioned in 1970 as RESEARCHER. The ship was renamed in 1987 after Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige was killed in a rodeo accident during his tenure in office.
In 1988 MALCOLM BALDRIGE was the first of the NOAA ships to be outfitted with an upgraded oceanographic system, called the Scientific Computer System. The SCS consists of two computer systems that are networked to provide for both data acquisition and data processing functions. One is dedicated to acquire, log and display data in real time and perform real-time data quality assurance functions. The other is dedicated to shipboard scientists for data analysis and direction of their research.
At the time of commissioning, the 278-ft. RESEARCHER was a showcase research ship that, along with NOAA's OCEANOGRAPHER and DISCOVERER, was the most advanced ship constructed by the United States for oceanography. Its design and capabilities earned it world acclaim as being among the most modern and best equipped research ships in the world.
"It is always bittersweet to witness the retirement of any fine ship, and particularly so for MALCOLM BALDRIGE, which served her country so faithfully for these many years," said Rear Admiral John Albright, director of NOAA's Atlantic and Pacific Marine Centers, at the BALDRIGE's decommissioning ceremony. "Consolation may be drawn from the knowledge that as we gather here today, a new vessel, NOAA ship RONALD H. BROWN, is well on the way to completion and will, beginning in mid-1997, continue where MALCOLM BALDRIGE left off."
Until its decommissioning, MALCOLM BALDRIGE was home ported in Miami, Fla. It is now at NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center in Norfolk, Va. The new RONALD H. BROWN will be home ported in Charleston, S.C.
MALCOLM BALDRIGE was most recently commanded by NOAA Corps Captain Craig Nelson. He and the other NOAA Corps officers on board the ship were responsible for all aspects of the BALDRIGE'S daily management and cruise operations, including driving and navigating the ship. They also managed and operated the onboard sophisticated data acquisition and processing systems and computer/communications networks, and directed all over-the-side scientific data collection operations.
###NOTE TO EDITORS: Further information about the MALCOLM BALDRIGE can be found on the Internet at http://www.wrc.noaa.gov/pmc/mb. For information about the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, see http://noaa.gov/nchome/.