Pre-collection activities

This section provides a typical "tour" of the steps that scientists take after a grant is awarded, up until the time the expedition begins at sea.
 

Step 1. Institutions and agencies have negotiated and signed a grant agreement. The Expedition Leader begins engaging with the ship operators.

• Most nations and some philanthropic organizations manage their own vessels and provide direct logistical support as part of the grant agreement. In the United States, for example, it is common for a federal agency to award a grant to an investigator, and in support of that grant directly provide funds to a third party such as an oceanographic institution for the ship and vehicles needed for the grant. In other cases, funds are provided to a different entity that operates the vessels.

• In general, these ship operators have limited influence on the scientific activities of an expedition and have no claims to the resulting data or the physical samples. Rather, they provide the ship, other vehicles such as submarines, and logistical assistance in support of the funded expedition.

Step 2. Funds are distributed and the scientists begin working with the ship operator on expeditionary planning.

1. Planning an expedition takes 12-24 months.
2. Planning starts with the scientist and funding agency identifying the assets (i.e., determining which ships or robotic vehicles are needed, etc).
3. Next, the scientists and agency officers work with ship operators to set the dates for the expedition. For example, in the United States, there are several Universities that operate vessels on behalf of the National Science Foundation. The scientists, agency officers, and ship operators will collectively determine the departure ports and dates for the expedition. These are publicly posted (though some details such as the exact departure date and time are left out of the public domain for safety and security but are available to any officials).
4. Typically, about 6 months prior to departure, the scientists begin working with the ship operator to plan the expedition in greater detail.
5. At this stage, the operator designates one person as the chief scientist, and s/he/they will be the primary intellectual director of the expedition.
6. Next, the Expedition Leader provides a list of the personnel (science party) who will be invited aboard and begin the process of securing work or travel visas for foreign national scientists, as needed. Visas are typically secured through the chief scientist’s home institution, not the ship operators. If permits are needed to use foreign ports for loading and unloading personnel and supplies, etc., the ship operators secure such permits from the U.S. State Department. Visas and permitting are sought well in advance as securing these documents can be very time-consuming, yet are critical for the expedition’s success.
7. The Expedition Leader continues to work with the ship operator to identify the study sites. In some cases, the science party works at a fixed locale such as a deep seamount or a particular depth, latitude, and longitude. In many cases, the exact location of operations can change over time due to scientific advances that allows for more precise identification of the location once at sea, as well as weather and other logistical considerations. While small changes to the study site are common, massive shifts in the location or scope of work are very rare.

Step 3. As the expedition date approaches, scientists shift their attention to shipping their materials and supplies to the vessel.

• Overall, science is an international endeavor, and scientists are well versed in collaborating with an international network of colleagues.
  • For example, scientists will often have to sail out of a distant port (sometimes an international port). Shipping certain restricted chemicals to those ports is impractical. Scientists will often ask local colleagues to help in acquiring the necessary goods, especially the chemicals needed for the scientific effort.

For additional information about expedition planning, see the information on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's website.