Construction of Tidal Marsh Mesocosms at the Baruch Field Laboratory

本项目将开发和建造一系列大型户外中生态系统，供常驻和访问研究者进行操纵性实验研究。该设施代表了现场实验室基础设施发展的下一阶段，旨在扩大海水的用途，刺激新的研究方向和合作，并在巴鲁克海洋现场实验室为学生提供培训和公共机会。新的行政、教员和工作人员任命，加上实地站的研究和教育利用达到创纪录的水平，已经制定了巴鲁克研究所未来发展和提高生产力的计划。mesocosm设施是一项重要的新举措，旨在促进对盐沼结构和功能的假设的测试。基于长达25年的北入口河口定期测量的综合长期数据集提供了对非生物和生物因素在长期变化中的作用的见解，但研究人员在潮汐主导的自然系统中进行大规模操纵实验的机会有限。一组工程师和科学家将设计一套8个350米乘13米的复制单元，这些单元可以以模拟邻近潮汐沼泽的方式种植，淹没和排水。相关的基础设施和控制将允许未来使用水力周期、盐度和/或温度作为测试因素进行操作。将建立一套较小的mesosms，为解决需要不同空间尺度或时间框架的问题提供研究机会。这一系列生态研究单元将共同推进该设施的研究和教育目标，也许比目前任何其他改进都要重要。

This project will develop and construct sets of large outdoor mesocosms which will be used by resident and visiting investigators to conduct manipulative experimental research. The facility represents the next phase in the development of field laboratory infrastructure designed to expand the usefulness of the seawater, stimulate new research directions and collaborations, and provide student training and public opportunities at the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory. New administrative, faculty, and staff appointments coupled with record levels of research and educational use of the field station have resulted in plans for the future growth and enhanced productivity of the Baruch Institute. The mesocosm facility represents a major new initiative designed to promote the testing of hypotheses regarding salt marsh structure and function. Comprehensive long-term datasets based on up to 25 years of regular measurements in the North Inlet Estuary have provided insights into the role of abiotic and biotic factors in long-term change, but opportunities for researchers to conduct large scale manipulative experiments in the tidally dominated natural system are limited. A group of engineers and scientists will design a set of eight replicate 3.5m by 13m units which can be planted, flooded, and drained in such a way as to simulate conditions in the adjacent tidal marsh. Associated infrastructure and controls will allow for future manipulations using hydroperiod, salinity, and/or temperature as test factors. A set of smaller mesosms will be established to provide research opportunities for addressing questions which require different spatial scales or time frames. Together, the array of units for ecological studies will advance the research and educational goals of the facility, perhaps more than any other improvement that can be made at this point.