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R/V Agassiz
Capabilities
The Agassiz is powered by twin 200-hp Volvo Penta diesel
engines and can achieve a top speed of 30 mph with a cruising range of
250 miles. The vessel meets U.S. Coast Guard guidelines for safety and
emergency equipment and carries life jackets, an emergency radio beacon
and a 20-person life raft. The Agassiz features a forward cuddy cabin
with a marine head and ample storage space, a pilot house with room for
the captain and five vessel/science crew, and an aft deck for passenger
seating and sampling activities. The pilot house features a state-of-the-art
Furuno NavNet navigation system with radar, GPS, electronic-charting and
a depth sounder. Dual marine radios and a cell phone support communications
needs. A science station is located in the aft portion of the pilot house,
with provisions to accommodate computer-supported sampling equipment.
The work deck occupies more than half the vessel’s length and, with its
13-foot beam, can support both staging and sampling activities.
The work deck is outfitted with two winches and davits
for deployment of oceanographic sampling equipment. The port winch is
dedicated for use with computer-linked sampling equipment such as that
used to develop horizontal and vertical profiles of light, temperature,
and other water quality characteristics (dissolved color, dissolved oxygen,
pH, conductivity, chlorophyll, oxidation-reduction potential), trace zooplankton
or fish distributions and map sediment features. The starboard winch is
designed to handle wire cable and will be used to deploy water bottles,
plankton and fish nets, benthic dredges, and sediment coring devices.
A sturdy work platform attached to the stern will facilitate the handling
of heavy equipment and diving operations. The work deck also features
a 30-foot telescoping mast that accepts a sampling platform for monitoring
air quality conditions.
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