The Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) of UNOLS works to assure the continuing excellence of the academic research fleet, to improve the capability and effectiveness of individual ships, and to assure that the number, mix and overall capability of ships in the fleet match the science requirements of academic oceanography in the U.S. In this context, planning for a new vessel involves creating a "Science Mission Requirements" (SMR) document that describes the vessel's size, performance, capabilities, and facilities, which then becomes the blueprint to seek funding for detailed planning and eventually, construction. Based on current science programs and future projections, and considering the age and capabilities of the current fleet, the FIC is developing SMRs for the next Global Class, general purpose, research ship.
We are doing this in several phases, the first was getting feedback via a survey from recent Global Class users. Now we are canvassing the broader community, asking you to think about future science and users in your field. Your feedback and responses to the survey are very important to the success of creating a community-driven SMR document. The survey should take you about 30 minutes to complete.
The survey form is available at: <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CommunityGlobalSMR>. Your response is requested by May 17, 2018.
We thank you in advance for your contribution to a vital community resource that is our research fleet.
Greg Cutter, Chair of FIC Sub-Committee on Global Class SMR
Byron Blomquist
Suzanne Carbotte
Clare Reimers
Jim Swift