Research Vessel Michael J. Greeley
The R/V Michael J. Greeley is the Coast Guard Academy’s 36-foot research vessel, which serves as a unique resource for the Marine and Environmental Sciences (MES) program. Not only is the vessel an essential tool for students learning about scientific concepts in the marine and environmental sciences, but it also provides a platform from which students learn through direct experience about cutting-edge oceanographic sampling techniques.
Expanded Research
The R/V Michael J. Greeley provides wide-ranging capabilities for conducting oceanographic research in the marine science curriculum. The vessel is capable of performing long distance trips, enabling coursework to take place not only in the Thames River but also in Long Island Sound and beyond. Expanded field operations translate into expanded laboratory operations, which enhance hands-on learning opportunities for cadets.
Specifications
The R/V Greeley provides capacity, capability, and versatility for marine research. R/V Greely carries a crew of 19 on the 170-square-foot working deck.
- 36′ aluminum-hull, equipped with a 1,500-lb lifting capacity A-frame, two 500-lb capacity side davits, dive ladder, flow through sorting tables, deck hydraulics, and two 220 hp Cummings engines. Well-mounted acoustic doppler current profiler.
- Echosounder (Biosonics DTX) with 200 kHz split-beam and 120 kHz single-beam transducers and towing sled for fisheries/zooplankton acoustics sampling.
- Oceanographic Sensors: Conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) (YSI) meters. Multiparameter water quality sondes (YSI EXO) for temperature, salinity, depth, pH, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and dissolved organic matter. Acoustic doppler profilers (ADP) (SonTek Argonaut-XR) current meter.
- Buoy monitoring system (EMM68) with solar-powered, floating platform with cellular communication system for real-time water quality monitoring of temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and other environmental metrics.
- High-resolution side scan sonar (Tritech StarFish 990F) 1MHz, high frequency side scan sonar with 70 m total swath coverage.
