Increased Research and Educational Opportunities at Shoals Marine Laboratory Through an Improved Communications Network

通过改进的通信网络增加浅滩海洋实验室的研究和教育机会

• 批准号: 1418881
• 负责人: Scott Valcourt
• 金额: $ 18.63万
• 依托单位: University of New Hampshire
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-01 至 2016-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1418881&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increased; Research; Educational; Opportunities; Shoals

Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), http://www.sml.cornell.edu, operated by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire, is in its 48th year of programs dedicated to marine research and education for undergraduates. Each summer, approximately 175 undergraduate students from all over the world participate in SML's credit courses and research internship programs and an additional 25 graduate students and researchers carry out thesis and long-term research on Appledore Island, a 95-acre island approximately six miles southeast of Portsmouth, NH in the Gulf of Maine. Appledore is an extraordinary physical location for exploring questions in field marine and island science with easy access to intertidal, subtidal, oceanic, and terrestrial habitats. It also offers opportunities to study sustainable engineering and the integration of power, water, and wastewater treatment systems at a scale that is approachable by students. This project will support the upgrade and significant enhancement of communications and information technology (IT) at SML to support the research and educational mission of this field station. SML's current IT infrastructure is nearly ten years old and is not able to support modern video-conferencing, video-dependent research, and mobile computing platforms. The improvements fall into three distinct communications categories including (1) the wide area network (WAN), (2) the local area network (LAN), and (3) major communications interfaces. The WAN improvements will establish a high-speed (50Mbps) symmetric microwave channel between the mainland and the island that will provide a fifty-fold increase in connectivity as compared to that in place on the island today. This will make high bandwidth communications applications possible, including videoconferencing, remote control of devices on the island from anywhere in the world, and the movement of large amounts of research data to and from the island. LAN improvements will significantly improve how researchers, students and staff on the island implement their work by providing fiber optic cable and high speed (100Mbps/1Gbps) LAN service across the island. The addition of major communications platforms, specifically two outdoor remote IP cameras and two Polycom video conferencing units, will provide direct support for research by students and mentoring of students.Broader Impacts: SML's mission is to support research, education, and conservation focused on undergraduates, and we are dedicated to delivering it effectively. This project will provide for additional research and educational opportunities that have not been possible in the past. A confluence of ingredients foster SML's success: an unspoiled oceanic environment, a spectacular cloistered island setting, a tight-knit community, a talented and enthusiastic faculty and staff, and courses that foster critical thinking and experiential education and research supported by a well-equipped facility. SML internship programs linking undergraduate researchers, engineers, and conservation biologists are a critical part of this success. SML students have contributed data since 1973 to the Appledore Island Transect Study, one of the most complete multi-decadal records of species diversity, distribution, and abundance in rocky intertidal habitats in the Gulf of Maine. The Appledore Island Banding Station has documented patterns of migratory birds in the spring and fall for the past 20 years. Twelve ongoing major research and survey programs attract ~40 investigators/year from ~10 universities. Graduate students (~4/year) base their thesis or dissertation research at SML. UNH and Cornell sponsor four undergraduate internship programs at SML, including: (1) Research Internships in Field Science (RIFS), an internally-funded successor to our NSF REU Site program that provides undergraduates opportunities for faculty-directed independent research; (2) Sustainable Engineering Internships (SEI) that provide undergraduate engineering students the opportunity to monitor, analyze, and refine the islands electrical, fresh-water, saltwater, and wastewater systems; (3) Marine Mammal Internships that use photography as a basis for non-disturbing mark-recapture population size and health estimates; and (4) Transect Internships that each summer extend the long time series of intertidal monitoring on Appledore Island. The communications and information technology improvements supported by this project will significantly and demonstrably extend the success of research and educational opportunities at the SML.

浅滩海洋实验室（SML）， http://www.sml.cornell.edu，由康奈尔大学和新罕布什尔大学运营，今年是致力于海洋研究和本科生教育的第48个年头。每年夏天，来自世界各地的大约175名本科生参加SML的学分课程和研究实习项目，另外25名研究生和研究人员在阿普尔多岛（Appledore Island）进行论文和长期研究，阿普尔多岛位于缅因州湾的朴茨茅斯东南约6英里处，占地95英亩。阿普尔多是一个非凡的物理位置，探索海洋和岛屿科学领域的问题，容易进入潮间带，潮下，海洋和陆地栖息地。它还提供了学习可持续工程和电力、水和废水处理系统的整合的机会，其规模是学生可以接近的。该项目将支持SML的通信和信息技术（IT）的升级和显著增强，以支持该实地站的研究和教育任务。SML当前的IT基础设施已有近十年的历史，无法支持现代视频会议、依赖视频的研究和移动计算平台。这些改进可分为三个不同的通信类别，包括(1)广域网（WAN）、(2)局域网（LAN）和(3)主要通信接口。广域网的改进将在大陆和岛屿之间建立高速（50Mbps）对称微波通道，与目前岛上的连接相比，将提供50倍的连接。这将使高带宽通信应用成为可能，包括视像会议、从世界任何地方远程控制岛上的设备，以及大量研究数据进出该岛。通过在全岛提供光纤电缆和高速（100Mbps/1Gbps）局域网服务，局域网的改进将显著改善岛上研究人员、学生和工作人员的工作方式。增加的主要通信平台，特别是两个户外远程IP摄像机和两个宝利通视频会议单元，将为学生的研究和指导学生提供直接支持。更广泛的影响：SML的使命是支持本科生的研究、教育和保护，我们致力于有效地实现这一目标。这个项目将提供更多的研究和教育机会，这在过去是不可能的。SML的成功是由一系列因素共同促成的：未受污染的海洋环境、壮观的与世隔绝的岛屿环境、紧密团结的社区、才华横溢、热情的教职员工，以及设备齐全的设施支持的培养批判性思维、体验式教育和研究的课程。SML实习项目将本科生研究人员、工程师和保护生物学家联系起来，是这一成功的关键部分。自1973年以来，SML的学生为阿普尔多岛样带研究提供了数据，这是缅因湾岩石潮间带栖息地物种多样性、分布和丰度的最完整的几十年记录之一。在过去的20年里，阿普尔多岛班丁站记录了候鸟在春季和秋季的迁徙模式。12个正在进行的重大研究和调查项目每年吸引来自约10所大学的约40名研究人员。研究生（约4人/年）在SML进行论文或论文研究。新罕布什尔大学和康奈尔大学在SML赞助了四个本科生实习项目，包括：(1)实地科学研究实习（RIFS），这是一个内部资助的NSF REU网站项目的后续项目，为本科生提供教师指导的独立研究机会；(2)可持续工程实习（SEI），为工科本科生提供监测、分析和改进岛屿电力、淡水、盐水和废水系统的机会；(3)海洋哺乳动物实习，使用摄影作为无干扰标记-再捕获种群大小和健康估计的基础；(4)样带实习，每年夏季延长长时间序列的潮间带监测Appledore岛。该项目支持的通信和信息技术改进将显著地扩大SML的研究成功和教育机会。