The NOAA Ship MCARTHUR supports a more diverse array of NOAA programs than any other ship in the fleet. This 175-foot research vessel conducts coastal oceanographic research, marine mammal population studies, and environmental assessments along the West Coast of the United States, Central and South America and through much of the eastern Pacific. The ship is named after Lieutenant William P. McArthur, a Naval officer who conducted the first hydrographic survey of the Pacific Coast of the United States in 1848 for the U.S. Coast Survey. His great-granddaughter christened the ship in November 1965.
With the ship's complement of small boats and specialized oceanographic equipment,
MCArthur is capable of a wide variety of marine research disciplines. Originally
designed for hydrographic surveying, the ship devoted many years recording tide
and current changes in waters of Alaska and the U.S. West Coast.
Since 1984, McARTHUR has been involved in a wide range of operations including Conductivity, Temperature, Depth casts, water clarity observations, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler transects, sound velocity profiling, weather balloon launches, acoustic surveys, scuba diving, plankton tows using several types of nets, and conducting detailed observations of marine mammal and bird activity. During Marine Mammal Assessment cruises, observers visually survey areas for population density and distribution of marine mammals. The study areas include the Eastern Pacific, from Washington State to South America and as far west as Hawaii. Basic habitat and oceanographic data are also collected.
Beginning in 1995, McARTHUR took on the additional task of conducting environmental
assessments for National Marine
Sanctuaries and Estuarine Reserves. The environmental assessment cruises have
included the collection of physical and biological data in the South Slough National
Estuarine Research Reserve, multidisciplinary studies in the Gulf of the Farallones
and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries off northern California, an ecosystem-wide
study in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington, and salmon
studies in and around San Francisco Bay. The primary goal of these cruises is
to collect data that will enhance the resource management of these pristine "set-aside"
environments, insuring their health for future generations.
In March 1998, McARTHUR provided support to the JASON Project IX, "Oceans of Earth and Beyond" at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary undersea canyon. The ship conducted oceanographic operations in the area and provided live video and audio links of these operations to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, headquarters for the West Coast operations of the project. Both live and near real-time images from the ship and dive operations were transmitted from the Aquarium during the week-long project.
In March, McARTHUR begins a five year project
with the National Marine Sanctuaries and the National Geographic Society
called Sustainable Seas Expeditions,
which features underwater exploration of the sanctuaries with manned submersible
units.
| Length (LOA): 175 ft. (53.3 m)
Breadth (molded): 38 ft. (11.6 m) Draft, Maximum: 12.1 ft. (3.7 m) Hull: Welded steel, ice strengthened Displacement: 1,071 tons Cruising Speed: 10 knots Range: 6,600 nm Endurance: 30 days Complement: 4 Officers, 18 Crew and 13 Scientists |
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