Potential Fields Pool Equipment Facility: A 5-Year Proposal to Support BGM-3 Gravity Data Acquisition Systems on UNOLS Vessels

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This proposal requests funding for a 5-year effort to enable PFPE (Potential Field Pool Equipment) to provide the equipment and expertise necessary to continue obtaining high-quality marine gravity data on UNOLS vessels. During the 5-year term of the proposed work, PFPE seeks to (1) maintain adequate spares for operating the BGM-3 gravimeters; (2) provide technical expertise to the UNOLS community; (3) coordinate both the operation and maintenance of systems; and (4) standardize data formats and quality control through the development of a new data logging program. This last effort, software development, will address the need for a standardized data marine gravity format and at-sea data quality assessment but not be a tool for extensive postprocessing of marine gravity data. A key product of this proposal will be the publication of a ?best practices? manual for the UNOLS community. In the development of both item (4) and the ?best practices? manual, we will solicit input both the gravimeter operators and experienced marine gravity users.Broader Impacts: The principal impact of the present proposal is under criterion two, providing infrastructure support for scientists to use the vessel and its shared-use instrumentation in support of their NSF-funded oceanographic research projects (which individually undergo separate review by the relevant research program of NSF). The acquisition, maintenance and operation of shared-use instrumentation allows NSF-funded researchers from any US university or lab access to working, calibrated instruments for their research, reducing the cost of that research, and expanding the base of potential researchers.