Improving Ocean Access for Research and Teaching at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute

改善缅因湾研究所研究和教学的海洋通道

• 批准号: 1821061
• 负责人: Andrew Pershing
• 金额: $ 9.56万
• 依托单位: Gulf of Maine Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-03-01 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1821061&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improving; Ocean; Access; Research; Teaching

The intense annual cycle and strong tides make the Gulf of Maine ecosystem incredibly productive, and it supports a high biomass of fish, whales, and seabirds. This ecosystem has historically been home to highly productive fisheries, including the fishery for Atlantic cod that was critical to the founding of the nation. This ecosystem is now warming at four times the global average rate, and this warming combined with generations of overfishing has led to the collapse of the region's iconic cod fishery. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) is the only institution dedicated to understanding the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Scientists at GMRI conduct integrated, interdisciplinary research across the food web, from plankton to people. Beginning in 2019, this team will include students participating in a new NSF REU program. Much of GMRI's field research involves collecting fish ranging in size from juvenile alewife a few centimeters long to 2 meter-long bluefin tuna. These standard-sized chest freezers are now scattered throughout the building, creating an inefficient use of space and energy.While GMRI is located on the waterfront in Portland, ME, the institute does not have direct access to the water. Furthermore, as the pace of sampling has increased, GMRI has had to add additional capacity to store frozen specimens. This project will fund the construction of a 12'-by-24' floating dock to provide safe access to the water for scientists, students, and marine educators. It will also fund acquisition of a large (8'-by-20') walk-in freezer to provide efficient storage of frozen specimens for research and teaching. The two projects supported by this funding were identified as part of a comprehensive strategic plan.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.

强烈的年周期和强大的潮汐使缅因州湾生态系统难以置信的生产力，它支持鱼类，鲸鱼和海鸟的高生物量。这个生态系统历史上一直是高产渔业的家园，包括对建国至关重要的大西洋鳕鱼渔业。这个生态系统现在正以全球平均速度的四倍变暖，这种变暖加上几代人的过度捕捞导致了该地区标志性的鳕鱼渔业的崩溃。缅因州湾研究所（GMRI）是唯一致力于了解缅因州湾生态系统的机构。GMRI的科学家们对从浮游生物到人类的整个食物网进行综合的跨学科研究。从2019年开始，该团队将包括参加新的NSF REU计划的学生。GMRI的大部分实地研究都涉及收集从几厘米长的幼鱼到2米长的蓝鳍金枪鱼的鱼。这些标准尺寸的冰柜现在分散在整个建筑物中，造成了空间和能源的低效利用。虽然GMRI位于缅因州波特兰的海滨，但该研究所没有直接的水源。此外，随着取样速度的加快，全球磁共振成像不得不增加储存冷冻标本的能力。该项目将资助建造一个12英尺× 24英尺的浮船坞，为科学家、学生和海洋教育工作者提供安全的用水通道。它还将资助购买一个大型（8 '乘20'）步入式冷冻室，为研究和教学提供有效的冷冻标本储存。该基金会资助的两个项目被确定为全面战略计划的一部分。该奖项反映了NSF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。