R/V Roger Revelle Handbook

Section I - Welcome Aboard

In order to make your stay aboard more enjoyable and productive scientifically, you are requested to observe the following guidelines:

1. The Coast Guard requires that Fire and Abandon Ship drills be conducted every week at sea. During these drills and in the event of an actual emergency you are to wear your life jacket, hard soled shoes, long sleeved shirt, long pants and some form of head covering. This is for your protection. Your muster and duty stations are found on the station card attached to your bunk. Drills are taken seriously. Listen carefully to the deck officers' instructions.
2. Safety is of the utmost importance. Please wear a work vest, hard hat and work suit as appropriate when working on deck with gear over the side. Wear adequate foot protection on deck. The deck officer will point out any unsafe practices, but don't hesitate to act if you see an unsafe condition. Do not go out on deck at night alone, or in bad weather, without first notifying the bridge. Request permission from the bridge before turning on deck lights.
3. The possession of drugs or alcohol is strictly forbidden by University regulations. One beer per person per day is made available for a nominal charge at the evening meal. Wine is generally served with the evening meal on Sundays. Beer and wine consumption is regulated by the ship's captain.
4. Conserve fresh water at all times; we do not have a limitless supply. Do a full load of laundry rather than a partial one. Take short showers.
5. Meals are cafeteria style. Watch standers have priority in line. Bus your dishes and silverware to the scullery. Cups and glasses are numbered and correspond to your bunk number. There will usually be more than one sitting to feed all aboard; please vacate the mess hall once you have finished to make room for others. Meal times and other information are posted. Shirt and shoes are required at meals.
6. Clean linen is issued once a week generally following the emergency drills.
7. If you wish to visit the bridge or engine room, please request permission from the watch officer. These are busy places, so you may be asked to come back another time, depending on the current operation.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. We are here solely for the purpose of accomplishing the scientific mission. This requires the cooperation of all personnel aboard.

Thank you.

T.J. Desjardins, Captain R/V Roger Revelle

History of R/V Roger Revelle

R/V Roger Revelle (AGOR 24) is the second of three new-generation AGOR oceanographic ships built by the U.S. Navy for operation by American oceanographic institutions. The first vessel, R/V Thomas Thompson (AGOR 23) was delivered to the University of Washington in 1991. Institutions wishing to operate AGOR 24 or 25 submitted competitive proposals to the Office of Naval Research in early 1991. These proposals were rated on the basis of scientific merit, ship operating expertise, institutional cost sharing, and other measures of merit. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography of UCSD, in collaboration with the Marine Science Institute at UCSB and the Institute of Marine Sciences at UCSC, won this competition, with SIO as the designated operating institution. The announcement of the award was made by the Navy on the very day (July 19, 1991) of the SIO memorial service for Roger Revelle, at which event SIO stated its desire to have the vessel named for him. That request was subsequently approved by the Secretary of the Navy. The third vessel (Atlantis, AGOR 25) was awarded to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the same competition. R/V Roger Revelle began construction at Halter Marine, Inc. in Moss Point, Mississippi, in early 1993, was launched in April of 1995, and sailed on her maiden voyage from Mississippi to San Diego in July, 1996.

Roger R. D. Revelle (1909-1991) was one of the twentieth century's most eminent statesmen of science. He was a distinguished university researcher and professor, the officer in charge of the oceanographic section of the Bureau of Ships (now Naval Sea Systems Command), a creator of the Office of Naval Research and head of its Geophysics Section, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, founder of the University of California at San Diego, a leader of international science organizations and research programs, a high-level advisor to governments, initiator and director of the Center for Population Studies at Harvard, and one of the first persons to recognize, study, and interpret to the public the issues of carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse effect and global warming. His major awards and prizes were numerous. One of them, his Agassiz Medal from the National Academy of Sciences, is displayed in the ship's conference room, along with his naval officer's dress sword. Both are gifts to the ship from Mrs. Rollin P. Eckis, Roger Revelle's wife from 1931 until his death, and the christening sponsor of the ship.

Roger Revelle made landmark scientific contributions to subjects ranging from sea floor heat flow to the capacity of the ocean to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. In the words of a colleague, he recognized "no seams" or arbitrary disciplinary boundaries in his thinking. He had an extraordinary breadth of imagination and inquiry, coupled with a deep conviction that science at its best was science in the service of humankind.

Of seagoing research and his years at Scripps he once said, "What I did was to send the institution out to sea, to make it a worldwide institution instead of just a local California institution. The farthest we ever went before the war was the Gulf of California....By the time I left we had a Navy that ranked with that of Costa Rica and had sailed literally millions of miles everywhere in the world." R/V Roger Revelle continues this legacy of voyaging to observe our watery planet, so that people may comprehend how it works and how best to live in harmony with it.

Preface

INTRODUCTION - The purpose of this handbook is to acquaint personnel with the characteristics and capabilities of R/V Roger Revelle. It provides a good review of what can and cannot be done on the ship, and lists sources of more detailed information. It directs your attention to a number of important safety matters. We hope that by reading it well in advance of your cruise you will spot problems in time to seek out satisfactory solutions, see how to prepare more smoothly and efficiently, and perhaps discover new or better ways to accomplish a certain task.

REVISIONS - The handbook is subject to ongoing revisions. We want it to represent the best information available from the experience of personnel at sea, and so we comments or corrections, suggestions for better arrangement of material, additions, etc. Please send any such input directly to the Ship Scheduling Office.

A CAUTIONARY NOTE ON ACCURACY - While reasonable efforts are made to update the handbook as needed and to issue new versions in the wake of significant changes on the ship, it is impossible to assure complete accuracy at all times. In all cases, make your particular research equipment needs known on the Ship Time Request Form and contact relevant technical support groups to ensure that critical gear is ready for your work.

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION - SIO produces a Chief Scientist's Manual which "summarizes the regulations, restrictions, customs, and traditions under which all research aboard SIO vessels is carried out". It is available from the Ship Scheduling Office, the resident technicians, or the captain. It emphasizes rules and procedures, whereas this handbook treats ship features and capabilities. Available in all scientific state rooms is the UNOLS RVOC Safety Training Manual, Research Party Supplement. The RVOC Safety Manual is available aboard as well. In addition, A Manual for Seagoing Scientists describes life on a research ship, including social interactions, routine work, customs, and more on safety. There is overlap between the three, and chief scientists should read all of them.

Schedules, ship layouts and other ship related information are available on World Wide Web. This may be accessed via the SOMTS home page.

Most scientific cruises will wish to make use of the technical support, equipment, or advice of one or more of the technician groups at SIO. In all cases a timely and clear explanation of your needs is to your advantage. The principal groups are listed on the next page. Most of these groups are recharge activities.