RV Laurence M. Gould

RV Laurence M. Gould in Punta Arenas, Chile.
History
United States
Name: RV Laurence M. Gould
Namesake: Laurence McKinley Gould
Owner: Edison Chouest Offshore, Inc.
Operator: National Science Foundation
Builder: Edison Chouest Offshore, Inc.
Launched: 1997
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Type: Antarctic Research & Supply Vessel (Subchapter U)
Tonnage: 2966 (International)
Length: 70 m (230 ft)[1]
Beam: 17 m (56 ft)[1]
Draught: (Loadline): 19.417 ft (5.9 m)
Ice class: ABS A1
Installed power: 2 × Caterpillar 3606 diesel engines, 4,575 hp (3,412 kW)
Speed: 11.3 knots (20.9 km/h; 13.0 mph) (max) / 8.6 knots (15.9 km/h; 9.9 mph) (average)[1]
Endurance: 75 days
Complement: 26 research scientists

The RV Laurence M. Gould is an icebreaker used by researchers from the United States' National Science Foundation.[2][3] for research in the Southern Ocean. The vessel is named after Laurence McKinley Gould a widely recognized American scientist, who had explored both the Arctic and Antarctic.[4] He was second in command of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's first expedition to Antarctica from 1928 to 1930. He helped to set up an exploration base at Little America on the Ross Ice Shelf at the Bay of Whales.

Gould, an international figure with 25 honorary degrees, and a principal architect of the Antarctic Treaty, died in 1995 at the age of 98. That same year, the National Science Foundation initiated the charter for the services of this ice-strengthened vessel to further its studies and knowledge of the Antarctic Peninsula and Southern Ocean.[5]

The ARSV Laurence M. Gould is operated by the Antarctic Support Contract (ASC)[3][5] on a long-term charter from Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). ASC staffs the vessel with a charter representative to coordinate cruise planning and scheduling, and with a technical staff to support science operations. ECO provides the vessel master, ice pilot and crew.

The Gould, completed in 1998, is 230 feet long and is ice-classed ABS-A1, capable of breaking one foot of level ice with continuous forward motion. The Gould can accommodate 37 scientists and staff in one and two-person staterooms. The Gould acts as a resupply ship and does long term environmental research[6] (LTER) in the Drake Passage and the Antarctic Peninsula, shuttling between Punta Arenas, Chile and Palmer Station, Antarctica. She replaced the RV Polar Duke as the main supply ship to Palmer Station.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Laurence M. Gould". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  2. ↑ "R/V Laurence M. Gould". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  3. 1 2 "Lockheed Martin - Antarctic Service Contract". Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Laurence McKinley Gould Online Exhibit". Carleton College. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  5. 1 2 "The Usap Portal: Science and Support in Antarctica - Laurence M. Gould". United States Antarctic Program. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Palmer LTER
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