Collaborative Research: IDBR: Type A: Diver-Operated Imaging Platform with Complementary Systems for Quantifying Aquatic Organism Interactions

加州理工学院和其他合作组织，包括普罗维登斯学院、罗杰·威廉姆斯大学和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校，被授予一项研究和开发一种新的潜水员操作技术的奖项，以测量影响海洋和其中生物健康的关键生物和物理过程。直接在海洋环境中进行科学研究的能力将是一种独特的国家能力，它将改变我们对海洋的理解，并有可能预测对渔业和沿海旅游业等行业的不利影响。该项目将把以前的实验室研究扩展到更现实的实地实验，从而推动海洋生物学的研究。重要的是，在该项目期间开发的技术将通过一个贷款计划免费提供给其他美国研究人员，该计划是在之前NSF的支持下开发和测试的。一家小企业将与研究人员合作，以低成本制造这项技术。该项目将通过招聘和培训全日制研究生和暑期学生来支持多样化的劳动力队伍，这些学生是通过一项为代表性不足的学生提供有针对性的研究机会的计划招募的。这些研究人员将在马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室进行实验室和野外工作，让他们接触到一线的野外研究。水生动物生态学的知识依赖于对个别生物关键过程的准确测量，如摄食、行为和相关的流体运动。对这些相互作用的成像在理解这些过程方面取得了重要进展，但主要取决于实验室的受控条件。实验室条件允许先进的光学配置在高度受控的条件下提供高空间和时间分辨率的运动图像。然而，这些相同的受控和定义的条件也可能无意中造成影响自然过程测量结果的人工环境。这项研究的目标是实现结合新型日间粒子图像测速(PIV)、高分辨率准直明场成像和三维图像全息的现场测量。这项新技术将使(1)直接量化复杂的过程，如在不同光照条件下在湍流中觅食和游泳，(2)对在环境中重要但对于受控实验室研究相对困难的动物进行详细的现场测量，以及(3)现场确认有关过程的实验室数据，如捕食者-猎物相互作用。

An award is made to the California Institute of Technology and other collaborating organizations including Providence College, Roger Williams University and the University of Texas at Austin to do research and development of a new diver-operated technology to measure key biological and physical processes that affect the health of the ocean and the organisms therein. The ability to conduct science directly in the ocean environment will be a unique national capability that will transform our understanding of the ocean and can potentially enable prediction of adverse impacts on industries such as fishing and coastal tourism. The project will advance the study of marine biology by extending previous laboratory research into more realistic experiments in the field. Importantly, the technology developed during this project will be made available free-of-charge to other U.S. researchers through a loan program developed and tested under prior NSF support. A small business will collaborate with the researchers toward low-cost manufacturing of the technology. The project will support a diverse workforce through the hiring and training of a full-time graduate student and summer students recruited through a program of targeted research opportunities for underrepresented students. These researchers will conduct laboratory and field work at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, exposing them to front-line field research.Knowledge of aquatic animal ecology depends upon accurate measurement of individual organisms for critical processes such as feeding, behavior, and associated fluid motions. Imaging of these interactions has yielded important advances in the understanding of these processes, but has depended primarily upon the controlled conditions of the laboratory. Laboratory conditions allow advanced optical configurations to provide high spatial and temporal resolution moving images within highly controlled conditions. However, these same controlled and defined conditions may also inadvertently create artificial environments that affect the outcome of natural process measurements. The goal of this research is to enable in situ measurements that combine novel daytime particle image velocimetry (PIV); high-resolution, collimated brightfield imaging, and three-dimensional image holography. This new technology will enable (1) direct quantification of complex processes, such as feeding and swimming in turbulent flows under variable lighting conditions, (2) detailed field measurements of animals that are important in the environment but comparatively intractable for controlled laboratory studies, and (3) field confirmation of laboratory data on processes such as predator-prey interactions.