NOAA Ship DISCOVERER

The Aerojet General Corporation in Jacksonville, Florida was contracted to build two vessels at a cost of 14 million dollars, under the supervision of the Maritime Administration. The two 303 foot, 3,800 ton sister ships were constructed as part of a coordinated 10-year national oceanographic program developed by the Interagency Committee on Oceanography of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. Their mission, to obtain vitally needed knowledge of the seas. The OCEANOGRAPHER and DISCOVERER were to be the largest ships built in the United States for deep sea oceanographic survey and research.

DISCOVERER's keel was laid on September 10, 1963. While under construction, a very serious fire ensued in the area of the Meat Preparation Room and Freezers, halting construction. Shipboard construction resumed and the ship was christened DISCOVERER at the Aerojet General shipyard in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 29, 1964. DISCOVERER was delivered to the U.S. government on December 15, 1966, following successful sea trials. DISCOVERER performed better than OCEANOGRAPHER on its first voyage, making 13 knots astern and slightly better than 17 knots ahead (designed to make 16 knots). On board for the sea trials was Captain William F. Deane, DISCOVERER's first commanding Officer.

"America's Floating Laboratory Received A Brain" soon after launching, at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Baltimore, Maryland. The single computer served collection and processing of environmental data, and ship operation. Using this computer, the propulsion and other machinery was automated, through a centralized engine room control (CERC) system. The CERC system measured and recorded: ship's course and speed, magnetic field intensity, gravity, surface current and temperature. This was the first system of its kind, revolutionizing environmental data collection.

Home ported in Miami, Florida, DISCOVERER's first assignment was to represent the U.S. government at the 1967 EXPO in Montreal, Canada. The vessel was on display from July 2nd to the 9th. Following the EXPO, DISCOVERER embarked on an intensive study of the Gregg Seamount in the North Atlantic. The research was the first of its kind conducted on seamounts. Oceanographic instruments were moored and recovered by DISCOVERER's scientific expedition. Although many bugs surfaced in its complex equipment, shipboard personnel were undaunted.

In 1967, after a minor overhaul at Jacksonville, Florida, DISCOVERER was scheduled for working expeditions in the Gulf of Maine and over the Atlantic's Blake Plateau, investigating the status of manganese nodules on the ocean floor. In January, 1968 DISCOVERER embarked on a three-month 20,000 mile expedition to gather information from the depths of the South Atlantic. DISCOVERER delivered personnel and equipment to the west coast of Africa, then back across the Atlantic to Cape Hatteras. Under the direction of Dr. Robert S. Dietz, DISCOVERER conducted operations in which data was used in the investigation of geological history and theories of continental drift.

For 30 years DISCOVERER operated in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and from the Arctic to the Antarctic ice shelf. By conservative estimates she has steamed more than 1 million nautical miles during her career. During her final field season, DISCOVERER provided the at sea platform for two of the largest oceanographic experiments ever conducted - the first Aerosol Characterization Experiment and the final Pacific cruise for the World Ocean Circulation Experiment. These expeditions sought to determine the effects of atmospheric pollution on global climate, and to understand the physics of climate change on Earth. Results from these cruises will be used to improve global climate, ocean circulation and greenhouse gas models. DISCOVERER's legacy of oceanographic observations and data sets will live on in the scientific literature and will benefit mankind for generations to come.

The DISCOVERER was decommissioned at Seattle, Washingtion, on August 16, 1996.

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