Preliminary Design and Model Testing for the High Latitude Research Vessel -- Phase II Alaska Regional Research Vessel

该提案要求为边缘冰区（MIZ）研究船的第二阶段设计和模型测试提供支持。联卢特派团已制定并审查了科学任务需求，概念设计于2000年秋季开始。拟议的船将取代目前联索特派团的区域研究船“阿尔法螺旋”号，以一艘更有能力、多用途和更大一些的船，更好地满足各种用户的当代研究支助需求。阿拉斯加周围的水域从阿拉斯加东南部的峡湾延伸到白令海，向北延伸到楚科奇海和波弗特海。这片广阔的地区占据了美国大陆架的大部分，也是美国唯一的北极水域。世界上一些最多产的渔场就在这里，对支持这些种群的海洋生态系统进行研究的需求非常强烈。海洋哺乳动物和鸟类的研究正在增加，而且由于管理和法律目的的“需要知道”，可能会增加更多。土著人居住在沿海地区，以海洋资源为生。对白令海和阿拉斯加湾北部的研究越来越多的支持，部分是出于这些考虑。对海洋学和大气条件的主要年代际和年际变化或高纬度海洋系统在全球气候过程中的作用了解甚少。因此，该地区对船舶支持的需求不断增加，考虑到其尺寸，能力和具有挑战性的亚北极条件所施加的季节性限制，今年R/V Alpha Helix提供了尽可能多的海上天数。随着船舶性能的提高，这一需求预计会增加。

OCE - 0121144WhitledgeThis proposal requests support for the second phase of the design and model testing of a Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) Research Vessel. The Science Mission Requirements have been established and reviewed by UNOLS, and the concept design was started in the fall of 2000. The proposed vessel will replace the current UNOLS regional research vessel, the R/V Alpha Helix, with a more capable, multi-purpose and somewhat larger ship, better able to address the contemporary research support needs of a variety of users.The waters surrounding Alaska Stretch from the southeastern Alaskan fjords, to the Bering Sea and north to the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. This vast region accounts for the majority of the United States continental shelf and its only Arctic waters. Some of the most productive fisheries in the world are found here, and there is strong demand for research on the marine ecosystems that support these populations. Marine mammal and bird research is increasing, and is likely to increase even more due to the "need to know" for management and legal purposes. Indigenous people live along the coasts, and use marine resources for subsistence. Increasing support for research in the Bering Sea and northern Gulf of Alaska, is, in part, driven by these considerations. Little is understood of major decadal and interannual variability in oceanographic and atmospheric conditions or the role of high latitude marine systems in global climatic processes. As a result, there is increasing demand for ship support in the region, and this year the R/V Alpha Helix is providing the maximum number of sea days possible, given her size, capabilities and seasonal restrictions imposed by the challenging subarctic conditions. This demand is expected to increase with a more capable vessel.