RV Investigator

The RV Investigator in Albany, Western Australia. Credit: Pete Harmsen

The RV Investigator is Australia’s flagship research vessel supporting a wide range of marine research, from the Antarctic ice-edge to the equator (see where it is right now and explore its data!). It is operated by the Marine National Facility on behalf of the nation.

Ship tracks of voyages undertaken from Jan 2015 to Sep 2017. Image: Ruhi Humphries

The Investigator has the capacity to undertake in-depth oceanographic, biological and geoscience research, and is the first Australian vessel equipped with dedicated atmospheric laboratories. These world-class atmospheric facilities host a suite of instrumentation measuring meteorological packages, greenhouse gases, radon, ozone, and a range of aerosol parameters. The table below summarises the ongoing atmospheric measurements.

Instrument Parameter
MAAP – Multiangle Absorption Photometer Continuous black carbon & aerosol absorption at 525 nm
Polar nephelometer Aerosol scattering at 3 wavelengths & multiple angles
SMPS – Scanning mobility particle sizer Aerosol size distributions, 10 nm to 1µm
CN10 – condensation particle counter Aerosol number concentrations for particles >10 nm diameter
CCN – cloud condensation nuclei counter CCN number concentrations
Ozone monitor Ozone mixing ratio
Picarro G2301 Greenhouse gas mixing ratios: CO2, CH4, H2O
Aerodyne Mini-QCL Greenhouse gas mixing ratios: CO, N2O, H2O
Radon detector Radon concentrations, giving land influence and atmospheric transport
Dual-Pol C-band Doppler radar Precipitation
Meteorological package Meteorological parameters (e.g. wind speed, direction, temperature, radiation, etc)
Sonic anemometers Wind speed and direction in both two horizontal dimensions, and

In addition, the Investigator also provides important world class facilities for the deployment of guest instrumentation for more focussed measurement campaigns. This includes:

The main mast assembly which hosts air sampling inlets and comprehensive meteorological packages is situated in the prime position on the bow of the ship to avoid turbulence and contamination from the ship’s own operations. Image: Ruhi Humphries

  1. Ample space in both the Aerosol and Air Chemistry laboratories, outdoor sampling space on Deck 5.
  2. Multiple air sampling inlets: the main inlet host a large number of additional instruments, with the ability to condition incoming samples for temperature, humidity and flow; additional special purpose inlets exist for VOC and ozone sampling using Teflon tubing, as well as separate inlets for very high flow rate instrumentation.
  3. A full telemetry system is provided to allow intensive sonde release campaigns.
  4. The ship has mounting positions for two shipping containers fore of the exhaust and superstructure – a prime position for atmospheric sampling. In addition, there is ample space on the aft trawl deck for additional containers where atmospheric properties aren’t critical.
  5. Stabilised platform – a shipping container-mounter stabilised platform has been designed specifically for instruments that must be stabilised against the dynamic ocean.

You can take a virtual tour of the Investigator, and you can even see the Master’s view right now!

 

The main mast assembly which hosts air sampling inlets and comprehensive meteorological packages is situated in the prime position on the bow of the ship to avoid turbulence and contamination from the ship’s own operations. Image: Gloria Salgado Gispert

 

The stabilised platform actively measures and compensates for the roll of the ship. Image: Ian McRobert