HR: 0800h
AN: OS41A-0459    [Abstracts]
TI: The Future of the USCG Icebreaker Fleet
AU: * Edwards, M H
EM: margo@soest.hawaii.edu
AF: University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology 1680 East-West Road POST Bldg. #815, Honolulu, HI 96822 United States
AU: Prince, M
EM: office@unols.org
AF: University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039 United States
AB: The United States Coast Guard (USCG) operates three icebreakers to support science in polar regions: the USCGC HEALY (WAGB-20), the USCGC POLAR STAR (WABG-10) and the USCGC POLAR SEA (WAGB-11). USCGC HEALY, the youngest of the icebreakers, has successfully completed four field seasons in the Arctic Ocean and one deployment to Antarctica since the ship was delivered in late 1999. Operations on board HEALY have improved with each deployment thanks to the feedback provided by science users and the responsiveness of USCG personnel to suggestions for enhancing shipboard support of data and sample acquisition. The POLAR-class icebreakers have been used primarily to support Deep Freeze by carrying supplies to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Unfortunately, both POLAR STAR and SEA are approaching the end of their useful service life. The main propulsion system of the POLAR SEA has recently been declared unfit to support another trip to Antarctica until at least the 2007 field season, which places an additional burden on the already ailing POLAR STAR and potentially impacts the arctic science schedule of HEALY. The Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC), which was initially formed to oversee the design and building of the USCGC Healy, now works to liaise and facilitate communications between scientists, funding agencies and facility providers and assist with the planning of polar science projects. Incumbent in this is the requirement that AICC provide continuing oversight for scientific aspects of the potential refitting or replacement of POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA as well as HEALY's scientific spaces and outfitting. The purpose of this presentation is to provide the polar science community with the most recent information about the status of the USCG icebreaker fleet and to solicit, synthesize and present the needs of the community to the Coast Guard to facilitate efficient and effective utilization of U.S. icebreakers.
UR: http://www.unols.org/aicc/
DE: 4207 Arctic and Antarctic oceanography
DE: 4215 Climate and interannual variability (3309)
DE: 4283 Water masses
DE: 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting