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The University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) is a group of academic institutions and National Laboratories organized in the United States to coordinate research vessel use for federally funded ocean research.


Authority

The UNOLS system grew from the recognition during the rapid expansion of oceanographic activity that there was no organized means of coordinating ship time requests of researchers, particularly those from institutions not operating vessels and that more expensive ships were not the answer. Federal research sponsors were concerned about more effective use of those expensive assets. Even though a more formal National Oceanographic Laboratory system was not established the less formal and less federally controlled cooperative system of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System was established. The form this took lay between federal control of the fleet and uncoordinated use of the often federally owned research vessels at the institutions. UNOLS was chartered in September 1971 to coordinate and support federally funded oceanographic research through efficient usage of the fleet. UNOLS goes beyond simple coordination of fleet activities. The system has developed standards and standard practices in cost accounting, reports, information services, shipboard equipment and services, foreign visit clearances, safety and coordinates on new vessel acquisition. In that last area UNOLS has played a part in influencing designs to most effectively support the mission. This has influenced the design of most U.S. and some foreign research vessels. As of May 1, 2019, the office for UNOLS is located at the University of Washington School of Oceanography in Seattle, WA.


Federal support, cooperation and funding

Federal support for and cooperation with UNOLS is found in the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
(NSF),
Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to pl ...
(ONR),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
(NOAA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the
Minerals Management Service The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was an agency of the United States Department of the Interior that managed the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS). Due to perceived conflict of inter ...
(MMS) and other agencies. The majority of the ships are owned by federal agencies and the ships are available to all federally funded researchers. Federal agencies also utilize excess ship time in fulfilling some of their ship based requirements.


Institutions

As of December 2009 sixty-one institutions are members. Some operate vessels while some are non-operator institutions. Those non-operator institutions were first associate members and are now full members.


Vessels

Vessels are either owned by or, more often, assigned to and operated by the institutions. UNOLS itself is neither the operator nor the funding agency for research. Many of the vessels are owned by federal agencies with the Navy having the largest number. The
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
owns vessels operated by UNOLS institutions. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
operates a large vessel, the ''Ronald H. Brown'' in cooperation with UNOLS. The U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers also cooperate on research scheduling. A number of well known research vessels have been members of the UNOLS fleet. Some are now retired or otherwise out of UNOLS service. All of the Navy owned oceanographic research (AGOR), as opposed to survey, vessels are now operated by institutions within UNOLS. In addition to vessels UNOLS assists in scheduling oceanographic research using aircraft owned by federal agencies through the Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR).


See also

* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy *
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
*
Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to pl ...
*
United States Department of Energy national laboratories The United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers is a system of facilities and laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for scientific and technological research. Sixteen of the sev ...
*
United States Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...


References


External links

* * (list with owner/operator and links) * (vessels pictured) * * {{authority control Oceanographic organizations Research vessels of the United States * Oceanographic research ships of the United States Navy