REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research Experiences in Changing Coastal Environments

位于洛杉矶Cocodrie的路易斯安那大学海洋联盟（LUMCON）将在2018-2020年夏季举办一个新的本科生研究体验（REU）现场项目。由于LUMCON独特的地理位置，LUMCON REU计划的学生实习生将有机会检查环境变化对生态系统多样性的影响：位于路易斯安那州较大的河口之一（Terrebonne-Timbalier湾）的上端，位于路易斯安那州沿海广阔沼泽地的中心，靠近两条主要河流（密西西比河和阿查法拉亚河）并处于两者之间，这两条河流决定了沿海生态系统的形态、过程和功能，位于富饶的沿海海洋以北，靠近墨西哥湾（当船蒸汽时），包括其最深的部分。这种设置，与LUMCON教师的专业知识相结合，为学生实习生提供了一个机会，追求专注于动态沿海和海洋生态系统的独立研究项目。这项研究还将支持基于科学的政策和管理。REU项目将在全国范围内招募，每年夏天将接待六名实习生，进行为期十周的研究体验。学生将进行独立的研究项目，并参加各种专业发展研讨会、实地考察和教育活动。大部分资金用于支付学生津贴、食宿和交通费。这个REU奖有助于美国国家科学基金会培养国家未来科学劳动力的目标。学生将有机会在各个领域进行独立研究，包括河流/海洋相互作用，三角洲形成和退化，海岸损失和恢复，生物多样性，生理，行为和一般生态学，地球微生物学，生物地球化学，以及急性和慢性人为和环境影响，包括气候变化，富营养化/缺氧，海洋酸化，沿海和海洋系统的石油泄漏。导师的研究兴趣和专业知识与该地区栖息地的多样性相结合，为REU实习生参与科学研究和专业指导计划提供了独特的机会，该计划将沿海和海洋生态系统的基础研究问题与基于科学的政策和管理活动的核心问题相结合。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), located in Cocodrie, LA, will host a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program during the summers of 2018-2020. Student interns in the LUMCON REU program will have the opportunity to examine the impacts of environmental changes on a diversity of ecosystems first hand as a result of LUMCON's unique location: in the upper end of one of Louisiana's larger estuaries (Terrebonne-Timbalier Bay), in the heart of coastal Louisiana's expansive marshlands, close to and between two major rivers (the Mississippi and Atchafalaya) that dictate the coastal ecosystems morphology, processes and functions, north of a productive coastal ocean, and close to the Gulf of Mexico (as the ship steams) including its deepest parts. This setting, combined with the expertise of the LUMCON faculty, provides an opportunity for student interns to pursue independent research projects focused on a dynamic coastal and marine ecosystem. The research also will support science-based policy and management. The REU program will recruit nationally and will host six interns each summer for a ten-week research experience. Students will conduct independent research projects and participate in a variety of professional development workshops, field trips and educational activities. Most of the funding supports student stipends, room and board and transportation expenses. This REU award contributes to the NSF goal of training the nation's future scientific workforce. Students will have opportunities to conduct independent research in a variety of areas, including river/ocean interactions, delta formation and degradation, coastal loss and restoration, biodiversity, physiological, behavioral and general ecology, geomicrobiology, biogeochemistry, and acute and chronic anthropogenic and environmental impacts including climate change, eutrophication/hypoxia, ocean acidification, and oil spills on coastal and marine systems. The combination of mentor research interests and expertise with the diversity of habitats in this region provides a unique opportunity for REU interns to participate in a scientific research and professional mentoring program that interfaces fundamental research questions in coastal and marine ecosystems with problems central to science-based policy and management activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.