Enhancing Capacity for Research and Education at the CCMI Little Cayman Research Centre

增强 CCMI 小开曼研究中心的研究和教育能力

• 批准号: 1624453
• 负责人: Carrie Manfrino
• 金额: $ 23.37万
• 依托单位: Central Caribbean Marine Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-07-15 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1624453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Enhancing; Capacity; Research; Education; CCMI

Little Cayman is one of the least developed tropical islands in the Caribbean, yet it provides a unique opportunity for research because of the facilities developed by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) in 2005. CCMI's Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC) provides an ideal facility where the reefs are under minimal local anthropogenic stress and are far removed from continental influences. Due to low population density and well-established marine protected areas, Little Cayman provides the rare opportunity to separate anthropogenic from environmental effects on coral reefs and their inhabitants. LCRC provides the laboratories, classroom, accommodations, vehicles, boats, and oceanographic instrumentation for scientists to conduct this vital research. Research at LCRC has led to major breakthroughs including the discovery of new marine invertebrates, improved understanding of low light reefs, advanced paleoclimatic reconstructions, a new physical oceanographic model for diurnal heating of shallow seas, and simulated ocean pH for 2100 to evaluate interactions between ocean acidification and calcification. This work is transforming knowledge and understanding of fundamental oceanographic processes and of mechanisms that drive coral reef stress and resilience. The facilities improvements shall further advance discovery and scientific understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning through programs held at LCRC: K-12 Marine Ecology and undergraduate courses, the Little Cayman Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), the Earthwatch Institute, and a new Dive with Heroes program for disabled US military veterans.The increasing number of new partnerships with leading academics and institutions highlight the importance of LCRC to the wider community and are resulting in more visiting scientists. This proposal seeks to meet the growing needs of the visiting scientists and students at LCRC by i) renovating the main building to double on-site accommodations intended for visiting scientists and graduate students, (ii) modifying and updating common areas (dining room, bathhouse) to support the increase in occupancy during its research and education programs, and (iii) upgrading to hurricane-rated windows and doors in order to reduce the chances of weather adversely affecting the research projects and to improve the safety of both people and equipment. The field station renovations in this proposal will allow the programs at LCRC to run more efficiently and simultaneously due to the increased capacity and capabilities. The programs conducted at LCRC shall continue to be broadly disseminated though peer-reviewed scientific publications, scientific conferences, a monthly news channel segment, newspaper and magazine articles, weekly lecture series, and social media network updates. For more information about LCRC visit http://reefresearch.org/lcrc/.

小开曼岛是加勒比地区最不发达的热带岛屿之一，但由于中加勒比海洋研究所在2005年开发的设施，它提供了一个独特的研究机会。CCMI的小开曼岛研究中心（LCRC）提供了一个理想的设施，珊瑚礁受到最小的当地人为压力，远离大陆的影响。由于人口密度低和完善的海洋保护区，小开曼岛提供了难得的机会，可以将珊瑚礁及其居民的人为影响与环境影响分开。LCRC为科学家提供实验室，教室，住宿，车辆，船只和海洋仪器，以进行这项重要的研究。LCRC的研究取得了重大突破，包括发现新的海洋无脊椎动物，提高对低光照珊瑚礁的理解，先进的古气候重建，浅海昼夜加热的新物理海洋学模型，以及模拟2100年海洋pH值以评估海洋酸化和钙化之间的相互作用。这项工作正在改变对基本海洋学过程以及驱动珊瑚礁压力和复原力的机制的知识和理解。设施的改善将进一步推进发现和科学理解，同时通过在LCRC举办的项目促进教学、培训和学习：K-12海洋生态学和本科课程，小开曼岛研究经验的本科生（REU），地球观察研究所，以及一个新的为残疾美国退伍军人提供的“与英雄一起潜水”项目。这也凸显了LCRC对更广泛社区的重要性，并导致更多的访问科学家。这项建议旨在满足LCRC访问科学家和学生日益增长的需求，包括i）翻新主楼，使访问科学家和研究生的住宿增加一倍，（ii）修改和更新公共区域（餐厅，浴室），以支持其研究和教育计划期间入住率的增加，及（iii）将门窗升级至飓风级别，以减少天气对研究项目造成不利影响的机会，并改善人员和设备的安全。由于容量和能力的增加，本提案中的现场站改造将使LCRC的项目更有效地同时运行。LCRC开展的项目应继续通过同行评审的科学出版物、科学会议、每月新闻频道、报纸和杂志文章、每周系列讲座和社交媒体网络更新进行广泛传播。有关LCRC的更多信息，请访问http://reefresearch.org/lcrc/。