NOAAS ''Rude'' (S 590) was an American ''Rude''-class hydrographic

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

that was in commission in the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA) from 1970 to 2008. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

from 1967 to 1970 as USC&GS ''Rude'' (ASV 90). She was named for Gilbert T. Rude, former Chief of the Division of Coastal Surveys of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. In 2008, NOAA decommissioned ''Rude'' and transferred her to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

(EPA). Renamed US EPA ''Lake Explorer II'', she entered EPA service as a

research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

in 2009.

USC&GS and NOAA

Construction and commissioning

''Rude'' (pronounced "Rudy") was built as an "auxiliary survey vessel" (ASV) for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey at the Jackobson Shipyard in

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...

. She was launched on 17 August 1966Polmar, Norman, ''The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Seventeenth Edition'', Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, Maryland, 2001
, p. 617. and commissioned into Coast and Geodetic Survey service on 29 March 1967 as USC&GS ''Rude'' (ASV 90). When the Coast and Geodetic Survey merged with other

United States Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

organizations to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, she became a part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS ''Rude'' (S 590).

Technical details

''Rude''′s hull was long, the smallest in the NOAA fleet. She had a total of 11 bunk spaces. The ship's

mess room The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

could seat seven. She carried a complement of four

NOAA Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (informally the NOAA Corps) is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (N ...

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and seven other crew members, including one licensed

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

. ''Rude''′s deck equipment featured one

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

and one telescoping boom crane. This equipment gave ''Rude'' a lifting capacity of up to . She also had of cable that could pull up to . For her primary mission of inshore

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...

s, ''Rude'' had a

differential global positioning system Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPSs) supplement and enhance the positional data available from global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). A DGPS can increase accuracy of positional data by about a thousandfold, from approximately to ...

(DGPS), a

multibeam sonar A multibeam echosounder (MBES) is a type of sonar that is used to seafloor mapping, map the seabed. It emits acoustic waves in a fan shape beneath its transceiver. The time of flight, time it takes for the sound waves to reflect off the seabed an ...

system, and

side-scan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea ...

(SSS). She also was equipped for

diving operations Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

to allow direct human investigation of submerged obstacles. She had a

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

for utility or

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

operations.

Operations

The Coast and Geodetic Survey acquired ''Rude'' and a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

of identical design, USC&GS ''Heck'' (ASV 91), later NOAAS ''Heck'' (S 591), to conduct wire-drag survey operations together, replacing the survey ships USC&GS ''Hilgard'' (ASV 82) and USC&GS ''Wainwright'' (ASV 83) in that role. Like ''Hilgard'' and ''Wainright'' before them, ''Rude'' and ''Heck'' worked together under a single command conducting wire drag surveys, clearing large swaths between them with a submerged wire. In 1978, ''Rude'' and ''Heck'' came to the assistance of the burning

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

''Midnight Sun'', rescuing ''Midnight Sun''′s crew and

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

s and saving the vessel from

total loss In insurance claims, a total loss or write-off is a situation where the lost value, repair cost or salvage cost of a damaged property exceeds its insured value, and simply replacing the old property with a new equivalent is more cost-effect ...

. ''Rude''′s crew took aboard all 20 of ''Midnight Sun''s crew members and scientists, who were afloat in

life raft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the m ...

s near ''Midnight Sun'', administered

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

to them, and transported them to shore. ''Hecks crew, meanwhile, fought the fire aboard ''Midnight Sun'' for 20 consecutive hours and saved ''Midnight Sun'' from sinking. For their efforts in saving ''Midnight Sun'' and her crew, the crews of ''Rude'' and ''Heck'' received the

Department of Commerce Silver Medal The awards and decorations of the United States Department of Commerce are Awards and decorations of the United States government, civil awards and decorations which are presented to civilian and uniformed personnel of the U.S. Department of Commer ...

in 1978.NOAA History: Hall of Honor: Commerce Medals Presented For Lifesaving and the Protection of Property 1955-2000
/ref> Electronic technologies eventually arrived that allow a single vessel to do the same surveying work using sidescan and

that formerly required two vessels working together using the wire-drag technique. In 1989, ''Rude'' and ''Heck'' began working independently thanks to the improved technology, and ''Heck'' was decommissioned in 1995 and sold in 2001. ''Rude'' remained in commission and was sometimes called upon to assist the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in search, rescue, and recovery operations. She located the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 on the bottom of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

south of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

off Moriches,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in July 1996, receiving a

Department of Commerce Gold Medal Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

that year for her efforts.Flight 800 ship to be retired - Newsday - March 24, 2008
/ref> After receiving word that the Piper Saratoga II HP flown by

John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American socialite, attorney, magazine publisher, and journalist. He was a son of 35th United States president John F. K ...

had disappeared during a flight on the evening of 16 July 1999 and was feared to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, ''Rude'' began searching for the wreckage of the aircraft on 17 July using

sidescan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea ...

and

. The NOAA survey ship arrived on the scene on the morning of 19 July and joined ''Rude'' in search efforts, employing a more advanced sidescan sonar than the one aboard ''Rude'', giving ''Whiting'' a higher resolution and a higher search speed. While ''Whiting'' searched one area in dense fog, dodging

lobster pot A lobster trap or lobster pot is a portable trap that traps lobsters or crayfish and is used in lobster fishing. In Scotland (chiefly in the north), the word Creel (basket), creel was used to refer to a device used to catch lobsters and other c ...

s, ''Rude'' found and marked a high-confidence target in another area that appeared to be the missing Saratoga and radioed the

rescue and salvage ship Rescue and salvage ships (hull classification symbol ARS) are a type of military salvage tug. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grou ...

about the discovery; ''Whiting'' then searched the same area to gain higher-resolution images of the target. Late on 20 July, U.S. Navy divers from ''Grasp'' confirmed that the target was the missing aircraft. ''Whiting'' and ''Rude'' competed their survey of the crash area on 21 July, then assisted the

in maintaining security in the area. Later on 21 July, the two ships were released from duty in the crash area and departed.noaa.gov Disaster Response: NOAA Ships, Planes, and Officers Offer Valuable Capabilities: JFK, Jr. Airplane Crash: July 16, 1999
/ref>
/ref> On 30 July 1999, the U.S. Coast Guard presented personnel involved in the search-and-rescue effort, including the crews of ''Rude'' and ''Whiting'', with a commendation

... for exceptionally meritorious service from 17 July 1999 to 23 July 1999 in the search and recovery of the downed aircraft carrying John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife,
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (née Bessette; January 7, 1966 – July 16, 1999) was an American fashion publicist. She worked for Calvin Klein until her 1996 marriage to attorney and publisher John F. Kennedy Jr. Her life and fashion sense ...
; and her sister Lauren Bessette. Members of the Unified Command distinguished themselves during this complex operation with their professional expertise and poise.

''Rude'' was decommissioned on 25 March 2008 and placed in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

in NOAA′s Atlantic Fleet.

Honors and awards

, 1978 In a ceremony on 23 October 1978 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, ''Rude'' and ''Heck'' were awarded the

for "rare and distinguished contributions of major significance to the Department, the nation, and the world."Program of Thirtieth Annual Honor Awards, United States Department of Commerce, October 23, 1978: Silver Medal: NOAA Ship Rude, NOAA Ship Heck, National Ocean Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Norfolk, Virginia
/ref> for their assistance to ''Midnight Sun''. The program for the ceremony cited the ships' achievements as follows:

LCDR Robert V. Smart,
LTJG Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
Kenneth G. Vadnais, ENS Samuel P. De Bow, Jr., Messrs. William N. Brooks, Johnnie B. Davis, James S. Eamons, Kenneth M. Jones, Frank Krusz, Jr., Anthony W. Styron, and Eijah J. Willis of the NOAA Ship RUDE and LCDR Thomas W. Ruszala, LTJG Charles E. Gross, and Messrs. Mark Aldridge, Horace B. Harris, Charles J. Gentilcore, Dennis S. Brickhouse, Robert T. Lindton, Arnold K. Pedersen, Joseph Wiggins, and James P. Taylor of the NOAA Ship HECK are recognized for rescuing the crew and scientists from the burning vessel M/V MIDNIGHT SUN and saving the vessel from total loss. The crew of the NOAA Ship RUDE safely took aboard all 20 crew members of the burning vessel who were afloat in
life raft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the m ...
s near the vessel.
First aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...
was administered, and the crew members of the disabled ship were transported safely to shore. The crew of the NOAA Ship HECK displayed outstanding seamanship through their efforts over 20 consecutive hours to fight the fire. The actions of the two ships' crew members demonstrated superior performance and exceptional courage in a maritime emergency beyond the call of duty.

1996 In a ceremony on 4 December 1996 in

, ''Rude'' was awarded the

for "rare and distinguished contributions of major significance to the Department, the nation, and the world."Program of Forty-Eighth Annual Honor Awards, United States Department of Commerce, December 4, 1996: Gold Medal: NOAA TWA Flight 800 Disaster Response Team: NOAA Ship Rude, Office of NOAA Corps Operations; Hydrographic Surveys Division, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
/ref> for its response as a part of the NOAA TWA Flight 800 Disaster Response Team. The program for the ceremony cited the team's achievements as follows:

The NOAA TWA Flight 800 Disaster Response Team is recognized for their crucial role in providing precise map mosaics of the Atlantic Ocean debris fields off Long Island, New York. The mosaics were instrumental in victim recovery, salvage and investigative efforts. Within hours after the disaster, the NOAA team arrived on the site and began surveying the ocean floor with highly sophisticated side scan sonar equipment. The team utilized the sonar data to produce precisely located graphic descriptions of the debris fields. Without the products and services provided by the response team, the recovery of the victims and the wreckage would have been a nearly impossible task.

Environmental Protection Agency

Acquisition

In August 2008, NOAA transferred the ship to the

(EPA) at the NOAA Marine Operations Base at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

.Anonymous, "Our New Research Vessel!," ''MED in Review'' (epa.gov), Spring 2010, pp. 4-5 Retrieved August 20, 2018.
/ref> The EPA renamed her UIS EPA ''Lake Explorer II'' and earmarked her for environmental research operations on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

Conversion

After acquiring ''Lake Explorer II'', the EPA converted it for use as a

. The EPA retained all of the ship's navigation equipment, her A-frame, and her accommodations of 11 bunks located in four double staterooms and one triple stateroom. However, the EPA removed all of her NOAA science equipment and installed new equipment appropriate to her new

environmental research ''Environmental Research'' is a peer-reviewed environmental science and environmental health journal published by Elsevier. The editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial le ...

role, including a winch and an additional frame. On 22 September 2008, while ''Lake Explorer II'' was moored in the Elizabeth River at the NOAA Marine Operations Base at Norfolk, still without her new name painted on her side, she suffered a fracture in a stern tube which ran through her center fuel tank, causing her to spill an estimated of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...

into the river.Anonymous, "Coast Guard responds to diesel spill in Norfolk, Va.," Coast Guard News, September 22, 2008 Retrieved August 20, 2018
/ref>Anonymous, "Environmental Protection Agency Operated Vessel Spills 1,400 Gallons of Diesel at NOAA Operating Base," The Maritime Executive, undated Retrieved August 20, 2018
/ref> Her crew contained the leak, and a combined effort by the U.S. Coast Guard, Norfolk Fire Department, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and an

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

response organization the EPA hired contained and cleaned up the spill. During the summer of 2009, ''Lake Explorer II'' was hauled out of the water at a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Virginia, for upgrades to her structural components. A major part of this phase of her conversion was the installation of a new tank to hold all

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

generated aboard the ship to ensure her compliance with strict zero-discharge standards for sewage on the Great Lakes. While she was out of the water at Portsmouth, the shipyard also replaced shaft tubes, replaced or rebuilt sea valves, painted her bottom with new anti-foul paint, and conducted a routine out-of-water inspection of her equipment and hull. In EPA service, the ship has a crew of four – a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

, and first engineer – and can embark up to seven scientists.

Operations

On 1 October 2009, with the conversion complete, ''Lake Explorer II'' and her crew departed the NOAA Marine Operations Base at Norfolk and, after a two-day transit in

waters, arrived in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

on 3 October 2009. Following a stay at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the ship proceeded up the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

to Albany,

, where she entered the

New York State Canal System The New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal) is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York. The system is composed of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, the Cayuga–Seneca Canal, and ...

. Over the course of four days, she navigated the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

and

Oswego Canal The Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers (near Liverpool) to Lake Ontario at Oswego. The canal has a depth ...

, passing through 30 locks, before entering

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

at Oswego, New York. ''Lake Explorer II'' then crossed Lake Ontario,

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, and

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

, passing through nine more canal locks along the way, before arriving at her new

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, on 16 October 2009, completing a 15-day journey of . Operated throughout the Great Lakes by the EPA's Mid-Continent

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

Division, ''Lake Explorer II'' conducts research surveys designed to develop a comprehensive environmental assessment of coastal conditions in the Great Lakes and demonstrate a new generation of lakewide assessment designs which include nearshore

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s in lakewide assessment.epa.gov United States Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Continent Ecology Division "Research Vessel (R/V) Lake Explorer II Overview" Retrieved August 20, 2018
/ref> Her work includes the use of advanced technologies for sampling aquatic life,

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

, and

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s, including the deployment of advanced ''in situ'' environmental sensing system packages, which make continuous synoptic maps of water and

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

properties, allowing for greater efficiency during extensive research surveys. After being hauled out of the water for

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

ing, upgrades, and the design, fabrication, and installation of a new

bulbous bow A bulbous bow is a streamlined flaring or protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The flare or bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel effici ...

at Great Lakes Shipyard in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, ''Lake Explorer II'' was relaunched on 27 October 2014.thegreatlakesgroup.com US EPA R/V LAKE EXPLORER II LAUNCHED AT GREAT LAKES SHIPYARD AFTER DRYDOCKING October 29 2014 Accessed 20 October 2022
/ref> She got underway to return to Duluth on 28 October 2014.

References

NOAA History, A Science Odyssey: Hall of Honor: Commerce Medals Presented for Lifesaving and the Protection of Property 1955-2000

External links

* *
Video "LAKE EXPLORER II EPA Research Vessel" on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rude (S 590) Ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Survey ships of the United States Rude-class hydrographic survey ships Ships built in Oyster Bay, New York 1966 ships Virginia-related ships Maritime incidents in 1978 Maritime incidents in 2008 Recipients of the Department of Commerce Silver Medal Department of Commerce Gold Medal Ships of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

USC&GS and NOAA

Construction and commissioning

Technical details

Operations

Honors and awards

Environmental Protection Agency

Acquisition

Conversion

Operations

See also

References

External links