Increasing Seawater Filtration Capabilities to Enhance Coastal Mesocosm-scale Research

提高海水过滤能力以加强沿海中生态尺度研究

• 批准号: 0934254
• 负责人: David Secor
• 金额: $ 11.42万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-02-01 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0934254&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increasing; Seawater; Filtration; Capabilities; Enhance

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.

马里兰大学获得了一笔赠款，用于升级切萨皮克环境科学中心生物实验室(CBL)的海水过滤系统。CBL是切萨皮克湾的一个中尺度受控水生实验中心(1立方米)，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综合体，其中容纳了CBL的1400平方米的主要海水系统。英国《金融时报》净可分配空间。海水系统的一个主要要求是高度过滤海水，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，周围的海水含有极高浓度的浮游生物，超过了目前的过滤能力，限制了这些重要研究季节的海水流动。该奖项支持可变流量、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减少到5微米。建立双银行将在需求较低时节省能源，在浮游生物大量繁殖期间增加产能，并确保未来海水设施升级的过剩产能。这一设施的增强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”的拓展和教师培训计划。通过CBL的游客中心，数以千计的学生、政策制定者和公众参观了CBL的海水设施，参观者参与了鲟鱼保护、海草恢复、切萨皮克湾酸化和其他正在进行的研究的展示。这一增强还将支持关键研究，继续允许CBL教师为环境和生物资源经理提供科学合理的咨询服务。过去的咨询服务为切萨皮克湾的生物资源制定了更具保护性的水质标准(即溶解氧)；改善了对蓝蟹、条斑鳕鱼、文鱼和鲟鱼的渔业管理；评估了鳗鱼草和牡蛎的恢复潜力；并提高了对营养物质和污染物的海底-上层耦合的了解。