NARRAGANSETT – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has selected the University of Rhode Island to host its new ocean exploration institute.
NOAA and URI said the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute will be a consortium of five ocean-science institutions, led by URI’s School of Oceanography, that will survey 3 billion acres of U.S. ocean territory.
The federal agency announced it is awarding $94 million for the institute over five years, with funding renewable for another five years.
Ocean explorer Robert Ballard will serve as lead investigator for the institute, which will work with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.
The other institutions involved in the institute are the Ocean Exploration Trust, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of New Hampshire and University of Southern Mississippi.
Among its tasks, the institute is expected to develop new methods of ocean exploration using smaller, remotely operating vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles. The less-expensive equipment will help carry out mapping and exploration missions.
Last year, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., helped secure federal funding to build a new $120 million ocean research vessel for use by the consortium, which began construction this week and is scheduled to be delivered in 2021.