Acquisition Proposal for Cold Chambers and Associated Equipment to Complete a Subzero Science and Engineering Facility at Montana State University

该合同将帮助购买和安装5个冷藏室和相关设备，以支持对零度以下环境的研究和教育。冷藏室将促进研究和教育主题的扩展，包括以下主题：(i)工程结构的研究，（ii）冰点以下湿地生物修复的研究，（iii）融雪水文学，（iv）零度以下温度下生物膜的研究。拟议中的设施将作为雪崩力学和安全、气候变化和极地生态系统动力学的教育和推广中心。在过去的十年里，零度以下的研究迅速升级，这个设施将成为与国家、国家和国际问题有关的众多应用和基础研究项目的研究和教育的焦点。该设施将吸引来自全球各地的科学家，并将加强国际和外部机构合作，从而促进科学家和学生的交流。该设施将由五个室组成：室M-1将提供100级清洁，寒冷的环境，用于净化和采样原始冰芯样品，用于生物和地球化学实验。M-4室将主要用于研究低温环境，在这种环境中，液相保持着有影响的作用。这包括对蒙大拿冬季和南极夏季的湿地、溪流和湖泊的研究。这个试验室还将用于研究高速公路结冰问题。可编程的太阳能模拟源将位于天花板上。M-6室将用作精密极端温度（-60℃至+60℃）环境测试室，用于支持不同学科的研究。除了可编程的太阳能模拟外，这些装置还将有一个可编程的安装在天花板上的辐射冷却板来模拟“寒冷的天空”。M-7A、M-7B室为两室标本储存和制备室。该腔室将配备冗余的压缩机/冷凝器组件，以便在一个或多个其他腔室出现故障时作为临时重新定位空间。该室内设施将为本科生和研究生提供低温微生物动力学、低温地球化学、一般运输、岩土工程和材料方面的教育机会。该设施将成为将来自不同背景的研究人员、教育工作者和学生聚集在一起的一个重要的协同关系的焦点。这种关系不仅会直接造福于零度以下的科学领域，还会通过关注零度以下世界的复杂性和重要性的宣传和教育，间接地造福于零度以下的科学领域。低温研究设施的建立将同时有助于确保过去十年的进步，填补现有研究能力中重要的缺失环节，并为寒冷地区研究和教育的持续增长和发展提供坚实的基础。

This award will help support the purchase and installation of five cold chambers and associated equipment to support research and education on subzero environments. The cold chambers will facilitate an expansion of research and education themes that include such topics as (i) the study of engineered structures, (ii) the study of bioremediation by wetlands below the freezing point, (iii) snowmelt hydrology, and (iv) the study of biofilms at subzero temperatures. The proposed facility will serve as a center of education and outreach on avalanche mechanics and safety, climate change, and polar region ecosystem dynamics. Subzero research has escalated rapidly over the past decade, and this facility will be the focal point for research and education on numerous applied and basic research projects related to state, national and international issues. The facility will attract scientists from all parts of the globe, and will strengthen international and external institutional collaborations leading to scientist and student exchanges. The facility will consist of five chambers: Chamber M-1 will provide a Class 100 clean, cold environment for use in decontaminating and sampling pristine ice core samples for biological and geochemical experiments. Chamber M-4 will be used primarily to study subzero environments in which the liquid phase maintains an influential role. This encompasses the study of wetlands, streams and lakes in the Montana winter and Antarctic summer seasons. This chamber will also be used to study highway icing problems. A programmable solar simulation source will be located in the ceiling. Chamber M-6 will be used as precision extreme temperature (-60 oC to +60 oC) environmental test chambers that will be used to support research from diverse disciplines. In addition to programmable solar simulation, these units will have a programmable ceiling-mounted radiant cooling panel to simulate a "cold sky." Chamber M-7A, M-7B is a two-compartment specimen storage and preparation chamber. This chamber will be equipped with redundant compressor/condenser packages to serve as temporary re-locate space should one or more of the other chambers experience malfunction. The chamber facility will provide educational opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels that focus on low temperature microbial dynamics, low temperature geochemistry, general transportation, geotechnical engineering, and materials. The facility will be the focal point to bring researchers, educators and students from a variety of backgrounds together in an important synergistic relationship. This relationship will not only benefit the field of subzero science directly, but indirectly through outreach and education focusing on the intricacies and importance of the subzero world. The establishment of a subzero research facility will simultaneously help to secure the advances of the last decade, fill in important missing links in existing research capabilities, and provide a solid foundation for the continued growth and development of cold region research and education.