During the 2013 legislative session, the Oregon Legislative Assembly enacted HB 3451 which established an Oceangoing Research Vessel Program at Oregon State University to assist in the research and study of the waters of the Pacific Coast. This state-funded program provides ship days to students and researchers from all of Oregon's public universities and natural resource agencies for the use of the R/V Oceanus to explore key coastal issues, including climate change impacts, ocean acidification and renewable energy.

 


During the 2013-15 biennium, the multi-institutional Research Vessel Council enabled by the bill approved three proposals.

  • “Undergraduate Student Learning Opportunities During a Multidisciplinary Study of the Umpqua Shelf Depocenter” led by Dr. Rob Wheatcroft (OSU) during March 24-27, 2015. Dr. Wheatcroft used four days of ship time to provide field-based experiential learning opportunities for ten OSU undergraduate students and to gather samples and data on the ecology, biogeochemistry and geology of the Oregon margin. Students helped to understand how sediment is deposited offshore of the Umpqua River and may influence the Oregon shoreline in that region.
  • “Building Effective Marine Reserve Monitoring Through Research and Education” led by Dr. Angelicque White (OSU) during April 8-12, 2014. Dr. White used four days of ship time to provide field-based experiential learning opportunities for 8 graduates and 3 undergraduates from Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and Clatsop Community College, and to collect of data on the physical and biological variability in and near the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve. Recently, the Cape Perpetua region has been subject to recurring summertime low-oxygen conditions. The ship days enhanced graduate courses on methods of oceanographic sampling.
  • “Geophysical and Geotechnical Investigations to Enable Embedment Anchor Installations in Oregon Wave Energy Study Areas” led by Dr. Chris Goldfinger (OSU) during March 10-13, 2015. Dr. Goldfinger used four days of ship time to conduct seafloor mapping, sub-bottom profiling and coring in support of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center's wave energy test site development. A "Marine Field Camp" for 6 OSU geology and geophysics students also provided training in cruise planning, weather strategy, ship operations, paleoseismology, wave energy siting and cable routing, paleoclimate, marine geology, coring, sub-bottom profiling and associated geophysics.

During the 2015-17 biennium, the Research Vessel Council approved five proposals:

  • “Coastal Ocean Carbon Cycling during Wintertime Conditions” led by Dr. Miguel Goñi (OSU), 5 days
  • “Tracking Ocean Acidification, Hypoxia, and Zooplankton Community Response through Experiential Research Education” led by Dr. Kim Bernard (OSU), two 4-day cruises
  • “Biodiversity, Zonation and Oceanography of Oregon’s Circalittoral Zone” led by Dr. Craig Young (UO), 5 days
  • “An Environmental History of the Columbia River” led by Dr. Maureen Walczak (OSU), 5 days
  • “Building the STEM Pipeline through Oceangoing Research and Near-Peer Mentoring” led by Ms. Tracy Crews (OSU), 3 days

During the 2017-19 biennium, the Research Vessel Council approved seven proposals:

  • “Coastal Ocean Carbon Cycling during Wintertime Conditions” led by Dr. Miguel Goñi (OSU), 5 days
  • “Linn-Benton Community College – Eclipse Balloon Proposal for OSU Shipboard Launch,” Dr. Jack Higginbotham (OSU) on behalf of Co-PI Parker Swanson (Linn Benton Community College), 2 days on R/V Pacific Storm.
  • “Inclusion of Oceanography in the Aquatic Microbiology Laboratory Course” led by Dr. Andrew Thurber (OSU), 2 days (1 day in 2018 combined with Niezgoda cruise)
  • “Measuring the Freshwater Budget of the PNW Ocean with Stable Isotope Ratios” led by Mr. Kyle Niezgoda (Graduate Student, OSU), 5 days
  • “Building the STEM Pipeline through Oceangoing Research and Near-Peer Mentoring” led by Ms. Tracy Crews (OSU), 4 days
  • “Filling the Gaps: High-Resolution Seafloor Mapping for Critical Areas along the Southern Oregon Coast” led by Mr. Scott Marion (ODFW), 5 days
  • “Integrating Research and Undergraduate Education: Assessing the Biodiversity, Physiology and Ecology of Oxygen Minimum Zone Inhabitants off the Coast of Oregon” led by Dr. Annie Lindgren (PSU), 5 days

During the 2019-2021 biennium, the Research Vessel Council approved seven proposals:

  • “Diversifying the STEM Pipeline through Oceangoing Research and Near-Peer Mentoring” led by Ms. Tracy Crews (OSU), 4 days
  • “Establishing long-term context for and drivers of our present regional wave climate via coarse-sediment coring off central Oregon” led by Drs. Burke Hales and Maureen Walczak (OSU), 5 days
  • “Vertical migration of Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) and pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani) larvae under current and future ocean acidification scenarios” led by Dr. Leif Rasmuson (ODFW), 5 days
  • “Taking OSU Microbiology Students to Sea: Integrating Microbial Oceanography in the ‘Aquatic Microbiology Laboratory’ Course” led by Dr. Andrew Thurber (OSU), 2 days
  • “Cascadia High-resolution Observation of Paleo Systems (H.O.P.S.)” led by Drs. Brendan Reilly and Maureen Walczak (OSU), 5 days
  • “Integrating Research and Undergraduate Education: Assessing the Biodiversity, Physiology and Ecology of Oxygen Minimum Zone Inhabitants off the Coast of Oregon” led by Dr. Annie Lindgren (PSU), 5 days
  • “Shiptime support for Oregon Shelf Invertebrates, an open-source identification guide to benthic biodiversity in Oregon waters” led by Dr. Craig Young (UO), 3 days

During the 2021-2023 biennium, the Research Vessel Council approved four proposals:

  • “Assessing Changes in Benthic Habitats and Biogeochemical Fluxes off Oregon in Association with the Re-opening of an 18-Year Spatial Management Closure” led by Dr. Clare Reimers (OSU) and Scott Marion (ODFW), 3 days on R/V Oceanus and 8 days of R/V Pacific Storm
  • “A Two for One: Understanding Cascadia earthquakes and marine heatwaves from short sediment cores” led by Dr. Valerie Sahakian (UO), 4 days
  • “Oregon Shelf Invertebrates and the Bryosetta Stone: A request for ship time to reveal hidden biodiversity on the Oregon shelf” led by Dr. Craig Young (UO), 3 days
  • “Taking OSU Undergraduates to Sea: Microbial Oceanography in the ‘Aquatic Microbiology Laboratory’ Course” led by Dr. Andrew Thurber (OSU), 4 days on R/V Pacific Storm

Council Members

  • Jack Barth, Oregon State University, Chair
  • Caren Braby, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Andy Lanier, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
  • Jonathan Allan, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries
  • Lori Pillsbury, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
  • Kristen Wilkin, Clatsop Community College
  • Craig Young, University of Oregon
  • Kaya Johnson, Marine Superintendent, Oregon State University (non-voting)
  • Todd Bridgeman, NOAA Marine Operations Center, Pacific (non-voting)

The one week volunteering on Dr. Goldfinger's research vessel marks the most pivotal moments of my college career. I am currently working on a senior thesis investigating the level of shaking across Oregon and Washington during large earthquakes events within the past ~15,000 years. I had the pleasure of presenting this work in Zurich this summer at a Paleoseismology conference and will also present at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December, 2015.
-Rachel Hausmann, Portland, Ore.

That trip taught me that I really love doing field work. I'm interested in becoming a marine technician, who is the person who goes between the crew of a ship and scientific researchers to make sure everyone is on the same page.
-Genevie Guevara, Newport, Ore.

Being able to actively learn how to utilize the shipboard equipment afforded me the confidence that oceanographic cruises are conceivably an imminent part of my future career path.
-Coquille Rex, Wilderville, Ore.