New Research Vessel Aids Coastal Research

Gov. Weicker and President Austin

The addition of the R/V Lowell Weicker to the Department of Marine Sciences fleet will support the department in its teaching and research focus on "greenwater" oceanography, or furthering knowledge about coastal ecosystems.

The trim 36-foot research vessel can be deployed quickly and easily in coastal waters, enabling scientists and educators to explore and observe the coastal environment of the Long Island Sound.

"Connecticut, as a marine state, should be at the forefront of research," said Gov. Weicker in a commissioning ceremony at Avery Point. "The future of Connecticut is right here - I know it," he added.

UConn Trustee and benefactor Richard Treibick, who suggested to the UConn Board of Trustees the name for the vessel, has endowed the Marine Sciences Research and Outreach Fund to provide long-term support for the work of UConn marine scientists and the R/V Lowell Weicker .

Gov. Weicker worked to establish UConn as a national Sea Grant institution and as one of only six National Undersea Research Centers. His support while governor resulted in the $50 million grant for the marine sciences building at Avery Point.

The R/V Lowell Weicker was purchased with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and with support from the University's Research Foundation.

"This is a partnership between the University, a generous private donor, and a federal partner - NOAA," said President Philip E. Austin.

"It shows what private support can mean for teaching and research," he said.

Equipped with laboratory space and designed for small moorings, the R/V Lowell Weicker 's primary mission is to support the Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System (LISICOS) program, in which UConn marine scientists monitor the coastal environment and model ways to manage it.

NOAA has provided funding for the coastal observing program at UConn since the early 1990s, and it now supports the LISICOS program.

Gov. Weicker and President Austin

LISICOS scientists monitor eight instrument-laden buoys deployed along the length of the coast and up the Thames River. Real-time data from the instruments are relayed to the Department of Marine Sciences at Avery Point and are analyzed and reported at 15-minute intervals on a Web site that is widely used by weathermen, boaters, and fishermen, among others: www.mysound.uconn.edu .

The instruments monitor variables such as wind speed, water currents and temperature, and the salinity and oxygen concentration of the water in eight areas of the Sound, including the coastal waters off Greenwich, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, and Hempstead Harbor, New York.

Marine scientists in the LISICOS program are particularly interested in hypoxia, or low oxygen conditions in the Sound, which affects fish and marine resources and may have played a role in a massive lobster die-off six years ago. They analyze the data and create models that can predict low oxygen conditions and be used in managing the ecosystem.

The R/V Lowell Weicker will enable scientists to check and deliver instruments to the buoys more frequently and easily and to examine areas of the coast that would be difficult to reach from a large vessel. It will be available for a rapid response to changing environmental conditions in the Sound.

"Our work is directed toward understanding the factors that determine the health of the Long Island Sound ecosystem, and especially those that control oxygen levels," said Ann Bucklin, professor and head of the Department of Marine Sciences and director of UConn's Marine Sciences and Technology Center.

"What we learn can be used by many people - from commercial shippers to fishermen, recreational boaters, municipal planners, and more. We are working to ensure that our coast and the Sound remain beautiful and productive for future generations," said Dr. Bucklin.