NOTE: After 27 years of service to the United States Antarctic Program, the NSF Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould ended its charter with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in July 2024. Information on this and subsequent pages is provided here for historical and archival purposes.

Full Document:
Laurence M. Gould

Sections:
Technical Information—Ship and Science Equipment
Main and 01 Decks
02 Deck and Bridge
Electronics Lab
Dry Lab
Wet Lab
Hydro Lab
Aquarium Room

The Gould was named in honor of Laurence McKinley Gould, polar explorer, geologist, teacher, and president of Carleton College. He was second-in-command on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition of 1929-30. During that expedition, Byrd established the base camp at Little America from which his team explored the continent, including flights over the South Pole.

Gould, an international figure with 25 honorary degrees, and a principal architect of the Antarctic Treaty, died in 1995 at the age of 98. That same year, the National Science Foundation initiated the charter for the services of this ice-strengthened vessel to further its studies and knowledge of the Antarctic Peninsula and Southern Ocean.

The ARSV Laurence M. Gould is operated by the Antarctic Support Contract (ASC) on a long-term charter from Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), Galliano, Louisiana. ASC staffs the vessel with a charter representative to coordinate cruise planning and scheduling, and with a technical staff to support science operations. ECO provides the vessel master, ice pilot and crew.

The Gould, completed in 1998, is 230 feet long and is ice-classed ABS-A1, capable of breaking one foot of level ice with continuous forward motion. The Gould can accommodate 37 scientists and staff in one and two-person staterooms. Each stateroom has a computer Ethernet connection. The ship has a galley and a common dining area, conference room/library, lounge with audio and visual systems, a hot tub and an exercise room.

For more information on living conditions, see Life Onboard the Laurence M. Gould.