Increasing Seawater Filtration Capabilities to Enhance Coastal Mesocosm-scale Research

马里兰大学获得了一笔拨款，用于升级环境科学中心切萨皮克生物实验室（CBL）的海水过滤系统。CBL是切萨皮克湾（Chesapeake Bay）内的一个中尺度（1立方米）控制水生实验中心，重点是渔业、恢复生态学、海洋学和生态毒理学。新的过滤系统将位于新的渔业研究中心，该中心拥有CBL的主要海水系统，占地1400平方英尺。净可分配空间。海水系统的一个主要要求是高度过滤的海水，以避免进入海水供应的微生物，污染物和浮游生物的无意影响。在春季和夏季，周围海水中浮游生物的浓度极高，超过了目前的过滤能力，限制了这两个重要研究季节的海水流动。该合同支持可变流量、大容量（每分钟300加仑）的海水过滤系统，将浮游生物和其他悬浮物质的引入限制在5微米以下。双排装置将在需求低时节约能源，在浮游生物大量繁殖时增加产能，并确保未来升级海水设施时的过剩产能。这一设施的改进将增加研究生和本科生的教育机会，并支持CBL的“从K到灰色”推广和教师培训计划。通过CBL的游客中心，成千上万的学生、政策制定者和公众参观了CBL的海水设施，该设施吸引游客参观鲟鱼保护、海草恢复、切萨皮克湾酸化和其他正在进行的研究。这项改进还将支持关键性的研究，使环境和生物资源管理学院的教员能够继续向环境和生物资源管理人员提供科学合理的咨询服务。过去的咨询服务为切萨皮克湾生物资源制定了更有保护作用的水质标准（即溶解氧）；改善蓝蟹、条纹鲈鱼、鲱鱼和鲟鱼的渔业管理；黄鳝草和牡蛎恢复潜力评价并提高了对底栖-上层营养物质和污染物耦合的理解。

The University of Maryland is awarded a grant to upgrade the seawater filtration system at the Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL). CBL is a center within the Chesapeake Bay for controlled aquatic experiments at mesocosm scales (1 m3) with emphasis in fisheries, restoration ecology, oceanography, and ecotoxicology. The new filtration system will be sited in the new Fisheries Research Complex, which houses CBL's primary seawater system of 1400 sq. ft. net assignable space. A principal requirement of the seawater system is highly filtered seawater to avoid the inadvertent influence of microbes, contaminants, and plankton that enters the seawater supply. During spring and summer ambient seawater contains extremely high concentrations of plankton, which exceeds the current filtration capacity and restricts seawater flow during these important research seasons. The award supports a variable flow, large capacity (300 gallons per minute) seawater filtration system to curtail introduction of plankton and other suspended materials down to 5 µm. A dual-bank set up will save energy while demand is low, increase capacity during plankton blooms, and assure excess capacity for future upgrades to the seawater facility. This facilities enhancement will increase educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and support CBL's "K through gray" outreach and teacher training programs. Through CBL's Visitors Center, thousands of students, policy makers, and members of the public have toured CBL's seawater facility, which engages visitors in displays on sturgeon conservation, sea grass restoration, Chesapeake Bay acidification, and other ongoing research. The enhancement will also support critical research that continues to permit CBL faculty to provide environmental and living resource managers with scientifically sound advisory service. Past advisory service has resulted in more protective water quality standards (i.e., dissolved oxygen) for Chesapeake Bay living resources; improved fisheries management of blue crab, striped bass, menhaden, and sturgeons; evaluation of restoration potential for eel grass and oysters; and improved understanding of the benthic-pelagic coupling of nutrients and contaminants.