About Potential Fields Pool Equipment (PFPE)
This effort was formalized in the mid-1990s through a memorandum of understanding between the US Navy Office of Naval Research, NAVOCEANO and the NSF, that was coordinated by Dan Fornari in the Geology & Geophysics Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In ~2004, Fornari was successful in acquiring NSF funding to purchase used, industry BGM-3 equipment that has served as the backbone of the inventory used to support increased gravity data collection on UNOLS ships – to the point where PFPE now supports gravity equipment and data collection on 9 academic research vessels (R/Vs Atlantis, Armstrong, Revelle, Sally Ride, Thompson, Siquliaq, Palmer, Healy, Kilo Moana), and has one BGM-3 sensor as a resource for use on other vessels or as a spare for those installed. Since ~2010, costs to operate PFPE have been largely funded through NSF’s ocean instrumentation award in a 5-year facility grants. PFPE actively (on a near-daily basis) supports the technicians on UNOLS ships from all the major US oceanographic institutions. In many ways, PFPE is analogous to other oceanographic “community-service” programs that WHOI operates (e.g., the winch/wire pool & NDSF). For nearly 10 years, PFPE has been providing real-time, 24/7 technical support for the BGM-3 gravimeters onboard UNOLS ships via email, telephone and web-based communications. Starting in 2020, PFPE now supports both marine gravimeters and magnetometers for UNOLS ARFs. PFPE has developed a partnership with the following institutions/facilities: Edison Chouest Offshore (EOC, operates the N.B. Palmer)
The Potential Fields Pool Equipment (PFPE) supports permanently installed BGM-3, gyro-stabilized gravimeter equipment on all University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) academic research fleet (ARF). PFPE originated over two decades ago in response to an identified need for the UNOLS community to have a centralized repository for shipboard gravimeter systems’ technical support, and to reduce the overall gravimeter operational and support costs to the federal funding agencies. Read more
Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO, operates the Langseth)
National Geospacial Agency (NGA)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO, operates the Revelle, Sally Ride)
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF, operates the Sikuliaq)
University of Hawaii (UH, operates the Kilo Moana)
University of Washington (UW, operates the Thompson)
US Coast Guard (USCG, operates the Healy)
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, operates the Atlantis, Armstrong)
Potential Fields Pool Equipment (PFPE) Services
Gravimetry
PFPE supports users needs to acquire gravity data at sea
Magnetometry
PFPE supports users needs to acquire magnetic data at sea.
