Exploring USM’s Point Sur research boat

Whenever aquatic research goes on anywhere on the Gulf Coast, there’s a good chance that the University of Southern Miss is involved in some way.
Today at the Port of Gulfport, the USM School of Ocean Science and Technology opened the doors to the Point Sur, a research vessel equipped with tools and technology that enable scientists to gather crucial data through offshore research.
The public was welcome to climb aboard and find out why USM’s students and scientists are some of the most well equipped researchers in the world. USM School of Ocean Science and Technology Director Monty Graham said, “Combined with everything that we do, we range from oceanographic work at Stennis Space Center to fisheries research at Gulf Coast Research Lab that requires people getting out offshore and working on the water.”
Captain Nicholas Allen said, “Our main instrument here is our CTD. It’s used for water sampling and water collecting. Everybody wants to know what the water chemistry is and collect water at different depths and that equipment gives us the ability to do so.”
The Point Sur was constructed in 1980. It’s one of five research vessels utilized by the School of Ocean Science and Technology at USM.