07-24-01

By Mark Floyd, 541-737-0788
SOURCES: Jack Barth, 541-737-1607
Pat Wheeler, 541-737-0558

NEWPORT, Ore. - Researchers involved in a major National Science Foundation-funded study off the Oregon coast will describe their research and host an open house for coastal residents and visitors aboard two research ships on Aug. 4.

The event will run from 1 to 3 p.m. at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Visitors will have an opportunity to learn more about the OSU-led Coastal Ocean Advances in Shelf Transport (COAST) study - a five-year, $9 million project to study the movement of waters to and from Oregon's shoreline. The study is has implications for fisheries management, pollution control, coastal tourism, shipping, invasive species, and other issues.

They also can tour two research ships that will be docked at the OSU center. The R/V Wecoma, the largest of OSU's two research ships, is 184 feet long and can stay out on a cruise for up to 30 days. It has a range of 7,200 nautical miles.

The R/V Thomas G. Thompson, administered by the University of Washington, is 274 feet long and has a slightly longer capacity and range. "It's rare for two research vessels to be in port on the same day, so we thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for coastal residents and visitors to learn more about an important research project that has the potential to affect our daily lives," said Pat Wheeler, an OSU professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences.

More information about the project is available on the web at http://damp.oce.orst.edu/coast. Persons interested in learning more about the Wecoma can find information at: http://www.oce.orst.edu/Vessels/martech/WecomaHome.html

Note to editors: This is a sidebar to a feature on OSU's Coastal Ocean Advances in Shelf Transport study, a major five-year, $9 million project funded by the National Science Foundation.

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