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

由康奈尔大学和新汉普郡大学运营的浅滩海洋实验室(http://www.sml.cornell.edu，)正处于致力于本科生海洋研究和教育的项目的第48个年头。每年夏天，来自世界各地的约175名本科生参加SML的学分课程和研究实习计划，另外25名研究生和研究人员在位于缅因湾的阿普普莱索尔岛上进行论文和长期研究。阿普莱索尔岛位于缅因湾，位于北卡罗来纳州朴茨茅斯东南约6英里处，占地95英亩。阿普利奥尔是探索实地海洋和岛屿科学问题的不同寻常的物理位置，很容易到达潮间带、潮下带、海洋和陆地栖息地。它还提供了学习可持续工程以及电力、水和废水处理系统集成的机会，其规模对学生来说是可接近的。该项目将支持升级和大大加强SML的通信和信息技术，以支持该外地站的研究和教育任务。SML目前的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。改进分为三个不同的通信类别，包括(1)广域网(广域网)、(2)局域网(局域网)和(3)主要通信接口。广域网的改进将在大陆和该岛之间建立一个高速(50 Mbps)对称微波通道，与目前岛上的连接相比，该通道的连接能力将增加50倍。这将使高带宽通信应用成为可能，包括视频会议，从世界任何地方远程控制岛上的设备，以及将大量研究数据往返于岛上。局域网的改进将通过在全岛提供光缆和高速(100 Mbps/1Gbps)局域网服务，显著改善岛上的研究人员、学生和工作人员执行工作的方式。主要通信平台的增加，特别是两个室外远程IP摄像机和两个Polycom视频会议单元，将为学生的研究和学生指导提供直接支持。广泛影响：SML的使命是支持专注于本科生的研究、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。多种因素共同促成了SML的成功：未受破坏的海洋环境，壮观的与世隔绝的岛屿环境，紧密联系的社区，有才华和热情的教职员工，以及由设备齐全的设施支持的培养批判性思维和体验式教育和研究的课程。将本科生研究人员、工程师和保护生物学家联系起来的SML实习计划是这一成功的关键部分。自1973年以来，SML的学生为阿普普罗尔岛样带研究贡献了数据，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数十年记录之一。阿普普罗尔岛环志站记录了过去20年来春季和秋季候鸟的模式。正在进行的12个主要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(每年约4人)将他们的论文或论文研究建立在SML。UNH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)，这是我们NSF REU站点项目的内部资助的后续项目，为本科生提供教员指导的独立研究的机会；(2)可持续工程实习(SEI)，为本科生提供监测、分析和改进岛屿电力、淡水、咸水和废水系统的机会；(3)海洋哺乳动物实习，使用摄影作为非干扰标记-重新捕获种群数量和健康估计的基础；以及(4)每年夏天延长阿普莱诺尔岛潮间带监测长时间序列的横向实习。该项目支持的通信和信息技术改进将显著和明显地扩大小岛屿发展中国家研究和教育机会的成功。

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.