These photos show the two ships used in the VOCALS field campaign.
Images courtesy of NOAA and IMARPE.

Research Ships Used in the VOCALS Campaign

Two ships are involved in the VOCALS field campaign. Both of the ships carry many special instruments used to study the atmosphere and the ocean. Scientists on the ships make measurements of the clouds and the air above them, and of the sea directly below them. They compare their measurements with others made at the same time by satellites and aircraft overhead. That helps them see the "big picture" of what's going on in the VOCALS study area.

One of the VOCALS ships is the Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown. The Ron Brown is owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the USA. Its home port is Charleston, South Carolina. The ship is named in honor of the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ronald H. Brown.

The second VOCALS ship is from Peru. It is operated by the Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE). The ship's name is the Research Vessel José Olaya Balandra. José Olaya Balandra was a fisherman who became a national hero during Peru's fight for independence from Spain in the early 1800s. The ship's home port is Lima, Peru.

There are also several buoys off the South American coast that take measurements of the ocean and atmosphere. VOCALS uses data from those buoys, too.

Last modified September 25, 2008 by Randy Russell.

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