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NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN

NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN, the newest research vessel in the NOAA fleet, is the third and final of the AGOR-24 class ships constructed under a NOAA-Navy Memorandum of Agreement.  Launched in May 1996 and commissioned in July 1997, RONALD H. BROWN is designed as a multipurpose research vessel capable of supporting physical, chemical and biological oceanography; atmospheric and climate research; marine acoustics; marine geology and geophysics; bathymetry; and a host of multidisciplinary environmental investigations in coastal and deep ocean regions. Although primarily deployed in support of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the ship is also tasked with supporting a wide range of academic research institutions.

As one of the Nation’s most technologically advanced research vessels, RONALD H. BROWN is uniquely equipped to support a wide range of programs.  Five primary laboratories provide nearly 4,000 square feet of dedicated mission space, with additional space on deck to support up to nine laboratory vans.  A salinity room, a climate control chamber and a scientific freezer are located adjacent to the laboratories. In addition to mission-specific sensors installed for each cruise, RONALD H. BROWN is permanently equipped with a suite of scientific sensors which includes a multibeam mapping system, sub-bottom profiler, acoustic Doppler current profiler, CTD system, acoustic positioning system, and C-band Doppler radar. A suite of cranes, winches, A-frames and hydrobooms provides this vessel with a wide array of equipment-handling capabilities.  RONALD H. BROWN’s Doppler radar - one of the few ship-supported systems of its kind in the world, and the only one in the U.S. research fleet - provides atmospheric researchers with a valuable tool for studying the formation and composition of complex weather systems at sea.

RONALD H. BROWN’s outstanding maneuvering capabilities are provided by two azimuthing stern thrusters and a water jet bow thruster.  Further enhancing the ship’s station-keeping abilities is a dynamic positioning system. Providing automated control of the stern and bow thrusters, this system, at a minimum, permits the vessel to hold station within a 300-ft radius in seas up to 11 feet, a wind speed of 27 knots and a 2 knot current. This capability is critical when deploying and recovering deep-sea moorings, supporting remotely operated vehicles and deploying over-the-side sensors.

In the past year, many of the capabilities of RONALD H. BROWN have been put to the test. During its recently completed year-long around-the-world research cruise, the ship and its crew participated in seven major projects, supported more than 250 scientists from 50 institutions, and traveled more than 55,000 nautical miles. As a collective group, these projects studied the natural and man-made forces that are driving global climate variability.  Important questions about the El Niño/La Niña phenomena, air pollution effects on temperature, monsoon rain effects and early tsunami prediction were among the many being answered by scientists aboard RONALD H. BROWN this past year.

Named in honor of the late Secretary of Commerce and homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN spends up to 275 days at sea each year and supports cruises whose durations are typically 25-40 days in length.
 

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Last Update  March 1, 2001