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An aerial view of the National Science Foundation-owned research vessel Sikuliaq (pronounced see-KOO-lee-auk, translated from Inupiaq as "young sea ice") on its return trip from preliminary acceptance trials on the Great Lakes at the end of February 2014. The research vessel is a 261-foot ship that the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences will operate as part of the U.
S. academic research fleet. Sikuliaq is a global class, ice-capable research vessel that will support science that helps us learn more about marine life, the oceans, the atmosphere and the global climate. The vessel design strives to have the lowest possible environmental impact, including a low underwater radiated noise signature for marine mammal and fisheries work. R/V Sikuliaq will be able to accommodate up to 24 scientists and students at a time, including those with disabilities, providing scientists from around the world and in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System a unique and important research opportunity.Image credit: Val Ihde, photographer
