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   he Research Vessel (R/V)

         Roger R. Simons

   the first large, Government-owned ship to be dedicatected
   onitoring^water quality of the Great Lakes.
                             i  ***
                             i_ I    r

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LAKE SUPERIOR  <==>
                       '1984
          1983-87

I
                                     1980
                                     1983-87
             11976-77     1975,
                                                l 978-79
                                     1983-87
                                                              1981
               Technical equipment on board allows
               scientists to collect many different samples,
               including water, plankton, sediment,
               radioactivity, and air contaminants. Special
               winches take water and biological samples
               and measure temperature and light profiles at
               various depths; meters and buoys can be
               dropped and recovered for research
               specimens.
               The future . Now that cities and industries
               have largely cleaned up the visible kinds of
               pollution, such as oil and floating debris, the
               Simons will continue to check the impacts of
               toxic chemicals and other pollutants on this
               suprisingly fragile freshwater world. The
               Simons will be able to tell the public how
               well our strong national commitment to save
               the Great Lakes has been progressing. Her
               ultimate purpose echoes the goals of the
               Clean Water Act — fishable and swimmable
               waters throughout  the Great Lakes Basin.

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Ship    Background. The R/V Roger R. Simons is a
         sturdy product of the Midwest, built in
         Duluth, Minn.,  in 1939. She was acquired
         from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1974 and
         converted from a buoy tender to  an EPA
         research vessel. The ship  is named after an
         EPA biologist who lost his life in the line of
         duty,  drowned while taking samples on the
         Mississippi River in 1970.

         Vital statistics. The steel-hull Simons is 122
         feet long, 28 feet wide, has a draft of 7 feet,
         and weighs 342 tons. Four twin-propeller, 230-
         horsepower CM engines can generate speeds
         up to 12.5 knots. Cruising range is
         approximately 1,000 miles. Fuel capacity is
         4,300  gallons, consumed at 35-50 gallons per
         hour, depending on  cruising conditions.
         Navigation and communications equipment
         includes various marine radio, radar, and loran
         systems. The Simons also has two  depth-
         sounding systems and special winches and
         cranes capable of lifting as much  as 4,000 Ibs.
         She carries one 16-ft.  Boston whaler.
          The Crew.  It presently consists of 12
         professional seafarers provided by a
         contractor and 8 scientists, although the
         Simons can accommodate a total of 28
         persons: 14 of the ship's crew and 14 of the
         scientific crew. Some of the scientists are
         also under contract, with the sample
         collection and analyses supervised at all times
         by one of the EPA scientists on board.


         Lab equipment. Chemistry, microbiology, and
         physical laboratories, with standard as well as
         sophisticated equipment (including
         computerized data processing), allow
         scientists to complete many analyses while
         out on the Lakes. Concentrations of
         phosphorus, silica, chloride, alkalinity,
         ammonia, conductivity, chlorophyll, and many
         other characteristics can be accurately
         determined right on board. Many of these
         measurements must be done immediately
         because bacteria levels  change with time and
         the environment. Studies are conducted on a
         24-hour basis during each cruise period.

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          The  Mission
          •fed
The primary function of the R/V Roger R. Simons
is twofold:
1. to determine the effectiveness of the
  multibillion-dollar cleanup programs that
  have been started to protect the Great
  Lakes from pollution; and
2. to improve our understanding of the
  processes that affect the Lakes, so that our
  cleanup dollars can be used most efficiently.
The Simons, operated under the auspices of
U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Program
Office in Chicago, is part of an
international monitoring effort on the Great
Lakes, required by the 1972 and  1978 United
States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreements.
The Study Schedule
 Each year the Simons conducts an in-depth
 study of water quality on the Great Lakes or
 the connecting waterways. From her home
 port in Milwaukee, Wise., she cruises
 from shore to shore, stopping at designated
 points to collect water, microbiological,
 biological, and other samples. Below is a
 schedule of sampling and monitoring surveys:
 1975 — Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River;
 1976 - 1977 — Lake Michigan; 1978-79 —
 Lake Erie; 1980 — Lake Huron; 1981 — Lake
 Ontario;  1982 —  in port; 1983 —  Lakes
 Michigan, Huron, and Erie; 1984 — Lakes
 Michigan, Huron, Erie, and connecting
 channels; 1985-87 — Lakes Michigan, Huron,
 and Erie.
 In addition, the Simons supports a number of
 research  projects that would not be possible
 without her. The Simons is working with the
 National  Oceanic and Atmospheric
 Administration (NOAA), the Argonne National
 Laboratory, and the University of Wisconsin to
 collect radioactivity samples. The  Simons is
 also helping the Governors State University
 (Park Forest South, III.) with studies of
 atmospheric fallout to the Lakes.
 The Simons has worked with the National
 Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
 to develop methods of using satellites for the
 monitoring of Great Lakes and ocean water
 quality. She has also provided support for
 special studies by university and Canadian
                            scientists.
 U,S. Environmental  Protection Agency

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