Acquisition of a Particle Enumeration and Analysis Facility for Marine Science

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Asper 9413809 This award provides support for the acquisition of instrumentation to be used in the study of biological, chemical and geological particle flux in the marine environment. The primary use of the system is anticipated to be study of "marine snow," or particulate matter. While it is well known that marine particulates are an important agent in flux of many chemical species in the ocean, and thus a key element in understanding nutrient and other chemical cycling, the details of how these processes occur is not well understood. The PI is one of the leading researchers in this field. The specific instrumentation supported in this award is upgrades to the PI's existing, DepSCOR-supported "remotely operated vehicle," or ROV. These upgrades significantly improve the capabilities of the ROV, providing sufficient thrust to allow its operation in ocean currents, providing precise navigation fo it, and providing portable laboratory systems for both system operation on "ships of opportunity" and for carrying out chemistry on samples collected during shipboard programs. University of Southern Mississippi provides 30% cost sharing of the project, supported under the Advanced Research Initiatives program. ***