MRI Development: Imaging FlowCytobot on Autonomous Vehicles for Plankton Research and Harmful Algal Bloom Mitigation

成像流动细胞机器人(IFCB)是为了识别和监测10~200微米大小的浮游生物而开发的，这种浮游生物在沿海水华(包括有害藻华)中特别重要，在海洋生态系统中发挥着关键作用。IFCB使用流式细胞仪和视频技术的组合来自动捕获微生物的图像。现有的IFCB仪器可以在6-9个月的时间里无人值守地部署在海洋中，并已被用于以前所未有的细节产生固定位置的浮游生物时间序列。由于这些研究是在流动的海洋中进行的，它们总是受到关于零散和动态系统中的空间变异性的问题的影响。该项目将推进IFCB技术，以开发该仪器的自动车辆就绪版本(IFCB-AV)，该仪器可部署在不同的车辆上，以实现长时间和空间覆盖的高分辨率浮游生物研究。由于目前在适当空间尺度上观测浮游植物的技术差距，获得共用的IFCB-AVs(与运载工具一起使用)将促进广泛的水生研究领域的知识。将直接受益于IFCB-AV的研究主题包括气候变化对美国沿海水域和北极浮游生物群落结构的影响、支持关键渔业的陆架断裂生态系统的变异原因、季节性浮游植物水华的调节以及墨西哥湾和缅因湾有害藻类水华的早期发现。IFCB-AV技术的应用将产生更广泛的影响，从基础研究问题到为社会相关问题的管理和决策提供科学支持。现有的IFCB时间序列技术已被证明对缓解赤潮事件有效，IFCB-AV将加强对这些问题的影响，以及对其他环境管理应用的影响，例如支持渔业问题的基于知识的综合生态系统评估。拟议的活动将改善培训基础设施和研究队伍的发展。随着IFCB-AV系统的共享使用，不同的受训人员将参与研究设计、现场操作和部署结果的分析。该项目还将通过加强与海洋生态系统空间变异性的规模和影响有关的内容来影响课堂教学。IFCB-AV将被开发用于多种车辆，以适应不同的研究目标。将采用设计、施工和评估的迭代过程。以实验室为基础的测试将指导长期部署所需的设计和操作修改，其中常规的IFCB水平定位(根据小型车辆的部署要求)。为了与多种车辆兼容，并简化仪器温度控制和水样采集，首选水中(拖曳)部署模式。如果这种方法被证明是有问题的，仪器将被重新设计，以获得通过关键分析区域的垂直水流，但其余部件采用模块化布局。在这种情况下，仪器将安装在与一系列车辆外壳兼容的扁平盒子中。

Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) was developed to identify and monitor plankton in the size range 10 ~ 200 microns, which can be especially important in coastal blooms (including harmful algal blooms, HABs) and play critical roles in marine ecosystems. IFCB uses a combination of flow cytometric and video technology to automatically capture images of microscopic organisms. Existing IFCB instruments can be deployed unattended in the ocean for 6-9 month duration and have been used to produce fixed location plankton time series with unprecedented detail. Because these studies take place in a fluid ocean, they are always subject to questions about spatial variability in a patchy and dynamic system. This project will advance IFCB technology to develop an autonomous vehicle-ready version of the instrument (IFCB-AV) that can be deployed on diverse vehicles to enable high resolution plankton studies with both long duration and spatial coverage. Because of the current gap in technology for observing phytoplankton at appropriate spatial scales, access to shared-use IFCB-AVs (with vehicles) will advance knowledge in a wide range of aquatic research areas. Research topics that will directly benefit from IFCB-AV include effects of climate change on plankton community structure in US coastal waters and the Arctic, causes of variability in shelf break ecosystems that support critical fisheries, regulation of seasonal phytoplankton blooms, and early detection of harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Maine. The broader impacts of applications of IFCB-AV technology will span from basic research problems to science-based support for management and decision making in societally relevant problems. The existing IFCB time series technology has already proven effective for mitigation of HAB events, and IFCB-AV will enhance impact for these problems, as well as to other environmental management applications, such as knowledge-based Integrated Ecosystem Assessments in support of problems in fisheries. The proposed activities will improve training infrastructure and development of the research workforce. As shared use of the IFCB-AV system proceeds, diverse trainees will be involved in study design, field operation, and analysis of results from deployments. The project will also influence classroom instruction by enhancing content related to scales and impacts of spatial variability in marine ecosystems. IFCB-AV will be developed for use with multiple vehicles to suit different research goals. An iterative process for design, construction, and evaluation will be employed. Laboratory-based tests with a conventional IFCB oriented horizontally (as required for deployment on small vehicles) will guide design and operational modifications needed for long-duration deployments. An in-water (towed) deployment mode is preferred for compatibility with a wide range of vehicles and to simplify instrument temperature control and water sampling. If this approach proves problematic, the instrument will be redesigned to obtain vertical water flow through the critical analysis region but with modular layout of the remaining components. In this case the instrument will fit within a flat box compatible with a range of vehicle hulls.