A Breathing Air Compressor for Scientific Diving Research and Training at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

为了了解气候变化和其他压力对加拿大沿海生态系统和物种的影响，迫切需要生物多样性数据和监测。这些数据存在巨大差距，特别是在沿海环境中，而2021年“热穹”等环境极端事件越来越多地与前所未有的极端温度联系在一起，对整个沿海生态系统构成威胁。科学潜水是发现和监测海洋的宝贵工具。这对于收集生态数据，特别是行为数据至关重要，而这些数据无法通过遥感或固定传感器或摄像机连续记录来收集。它使现场实验能够将现实世界的复杂性结合到实验室中不可能实现的程度。我们的科学潜水计划由班菲尔德海洋科学中心（BMSC）支持，为沿海生态系统提供重要的访问。我们建议购买一台呼吸空气压缩机，以取代现有的40年历史的压缩机，以支持持续的科学潜水研究计划，以评估物种多样性，入侵物种，生态系统完整性，生物多样性监测，恢复性生态系统生态学和适应性进化生态学。所要求的设备将确保关键的科学潜水可以在BMSC不间断地继续进行，并支持研究、教育和培训，以促进对加拿大西海岸环境变化的理解，从而制定气候解决方案。

Biodiversity data and monitoring are critically needed to understand the impacts of climate change and other pressures on Canada's coastal ecosystems and species. There is a significant gap in such data, particularly in coastal environments, while environmental extremes such as the 2021 "heat dome" are increasingly associated with unprecedented temperature extremes representing threats to entire coastal ecosystems. Scientific diving is an invaluable tool for ocean discoveries and monitoring. It is essential for the collection of ecological and especially behavioural data that cannot be collected through remote sensing or continuously recording fixed sensors or cameras. It enables in situ experiments that incorporate real-world complexity to an extent that is not really possible in the lab. Our scientific diving programs, supported by the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC), provide critical access to coastal ecosystems. We are proposing the acquisition of a breathing air compressor to replace an existing 40 year old compressor in support of continued scientific diving research programs for estimates of species diversity, invasive species, ecosystem integrity, biodiversity monitoring, restorative ecosystem ecology, and adaptive evolutionary ecology. The requested equipment will ensure that critical scientific diving can continue uninterrupted at the BMSC and support research, education and training that contribute to an understanding of environmental change across Canada's west coast towards the development of climate solutions.