161214-N-PO203-037 PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 14, 2016) Maddie

161214-N-PO203-037 PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 14, 2016) Maddie Hamann, a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, downloads data from the lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler aboard the Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) vessel R/V Sally Ride which is currently conducting a science verification cruise in order to test its installed systems and ensure readiness for conducting future research missions. Operated by Scripps under a charter lease agreement with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Sally Ride has multi-beam bottom-mapping and ocean current profiling sonars, advanced meteorological sensors and satellite data transmission systems, the latest navigation and ship-positioning systems, and a specially designed hull that improves sonar acoustic performance. The Navy, through ONR, has been a leader in building and providing large ships for the nation’s academic research fleet since World War II. (U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released)