Available Facilities

In reference to the University of Washington, the project will be conducted almost exclusively "off campus." Primary facilites will include the Hakodate campus of Hokkaido University, the Usujiri Biological Station of Hokkaido University, and a research vessel provided by the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Hakodate campus, just five minutes by car from the Port of Hakodate, will be used as a pre-expedition staging area, serving as a central point to which all equipment and supplies will be shipped and a meeting place for all project personnel. A Russian research vessel (see below) will serve as a means of transporation to and from the islands, and as a source of all meals (prepared by a cook and support staff attached to the vessel), sleeping quarters, and as a floating research laboratory while at sea and when on-site. Large "Achilles" inflatables will be used to transport equipment and scientists to and from the research vessel. On the larger islands (e.g., Kunashir, Iturup, Urup, and Paramushir), four-wheel drive Russian military vehicles will be used to move between distant collecting sites.


The R/V Professor Bogorov, chartered vessel for the IKIP 1994 expedition.

Just prior to each annual expedition, the Japanese and U.S. teams will converge on Hakodate, where they will be met by the research vessel carrying members of the Russian team. At the termination of each field season, the vessel will again make port at Hakodate, where all collections will be unloaded and transported to Usujiri Biological Station, where (1) sorting, identification, curation, will be completed; (2) all remaining field data will be entered into the database; and (3) specimens will be prepared for shipment to the appropriate institution. Located at the mouth of Volcano Bay, Hokkaido, approximately 42 km from Hakodate City, the Usujiri Biological Station is well equipped with microscopes and other essential gear, and provides more than enough laboratory space for our needs. A dormitory on the premises, with room for 54 persons, will be available for our exclusive use.

The Russian Academy of Sciences is able to offer a wide choice of state-of-the-art research vessels, but recommends a "4630 Class" of vessels built by Finnish shipyards, for example, the R/V Academic Oparin or R/V Academic M. A. Lavrentiev. At a length of 75.5 m and providing five laboratories and space for 36 scientists, this vessel might at first seem too large. However, we anticipate a scientific team of at least 32 people, including students and technicians. The next smaller class of vessels, for example the 68.8-m R/V Professor Bogorov (chartered for our 1994 field season), with only two laboratories and space for 28 scientists, is too small.


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