Improvement of the Seawater System for the University of Guam Marine Laboratory

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The University of Guam Marine Laboratory will expand and upgrade the seawater system in support of the growing demand for space to support research by both resident faculty and students as well as visiting investigators. Prior facilities improvements have included an upgrade of the seawater pumps, installation of a redundant system that allowed for pump maintenance and repairs without interruption of seawater flow and the addition of a back-up generator with an automatic transfer switch which has enabled the system to run continuously during periods of power outrage. The dependability of the present seawater system will enhance experimentation and increase use of the laboratory facilities for manipulative experiments under controlled conditions, and for longer term growth and physiological studies. With the recent completion of a visitors housing facility there is also an increasing demand for the use of the water tables by visiting researchers. In order to ensure the facility can meet the research needs of both resident and visiting scientists, the University of Guam Marine Laboratory will expand and upgrade the present facilities. The specific improvements include the seawater intake, expansion of the outdoor enclosed space, addition of more seawater tables and tanks, and addition of a back-up well to allow continuous seawater availability during tropical storms and typhoons. The University of Guam Marine Laboratory supports the research of eight full-time faculty, numerous graduate and undergraduate students, as well as visiting investigators. The research demands on the facility have increased due to the addition of new faculty at the laboratory, the recent establishment of collaborative programs between the Marine Laboratory and the University of Hawaii and the University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa, Japan), and the awareness of the Marine Laboratory as a resource for coral reef research by over 550 scientists who attended the 7th International Coral Reef Symposium on Guam in June 1992. The improvements to the seawater system will allow the support of the increasing number of visiting scientists that wish to conduct research at the laboratory, which will in turn enhance the research environment.