FSML: Increasing Capacity for Water Quality Research at the Shannon Point Marine Center

海洋水质分析是对海水的物理、化学和生物组成的测量，对海洋科学研究至关重要。例如，这些测量被用来研究改变海水成分的过程，如土地利用模式的改变和气候变化，以及水质变化对海洋动植物的影响。它们还用于监测海洋实验室研究设备的性能。在西华盛顿大学（WWU）香农角海洋中心（SPMC），水质测量被用来了解萨利希海水域的动态，以及生活在当地水域的生物的生物学和生态学。海洋中心的研究人员还使用水质测量来监测实验室的海水系统及其海洋酸化设施。为了更有效、更低成本、更安全地测量海水中硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐、铵、尿素、磷酸盐、硅酸盐、硫酸盐、溶解氧和叶绿素的浓度，SPMC将购买新的仪器来处理海水样品并进行水质测量。这些仪器将由海洋中心的常驻科学家、华盛顿贝灵汉世界海洋大学主校区的附属教师以及访问科学家使用。它还将支持教育活动，包括在SPMC举办的世界海洋大学海洋科学课程，研究生论文项目，以及本科生在海洋中心进行的研究和实习活动。因此，这个项目将促进对影响华盛顿州海洋生态系统的过程的了解，并将有助于培训下一代海洋科学家。本项目拟采购的设备包括用于测量海水亚硝酸盐、硝酸盐、铵、尿素、磷酸盐、硅酸盐和硫酸盐的自动化化学分析仪；一种测量溶解氧的滴定系统；以及用于测量叶绿素和其他色素的紫外/可见分光光度计。还将购买用于进行这些分析的配套仪器，包括用于处理色素分析样品的冷冻离心机，用于制备试剂的分析天平和超纯水过滤系统，以及用于处理水样的多端口过滤系统。这些设备将被安置在香农角海洋中心的海洋化学设施中，供当地居民、世界海洋大学和访问科学家和学生使用。该设备将恢复和扩大SPMC进行海水化学、物理和生物特性测量的能力；促进对海洋生物和生态系统进行新的或扩大的研究；并允许SPMC更好地监测其海洋酸化和海水系统基础设施。它还将使该设施的工作人员能够继续增加其现有的水质数据库，该数据库始于1974年，是该地区运行时间最长的水质数据库之一。有关香农角海洋中心的更多信息，请访问他们的网站https://www.wwu.edu/spmc/.This该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过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。

Marine water quality analyses, which are measurements of the physical, chemical, and biological composition of seawater, are critical to marine science research. For example, these measurements are used to study processes that change the composition of seawater, such as alterations of land-use patterns and climate change, and the effects of changes in water quality on marine plants and animals. They also are used to monitor the performance of research equipment at marine laboratories. At Western Washington University's (WWU's) Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC), measurements of water quality are used to understand the dynamics of the waters of the Salish Sea, and the biology and ecology of the organisms that live in the local waters. Researchers at the Marine Center also use water quality measurements to monitor the laboratory's seawater system and its ocean acidification facility. In order to measure concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, urea, phosphate, silicate, sulfate, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll in seawater more efficiently, at lower cost, and more safely, SPMC will purchase new instrumentation for processing seawater samples and conducting water quality measurements. The instrumentation will be used by resident scientists at the Marine Center, by affiliated faculty from WWU's main campus in Bellingham, Washington, and by visiting scientists. It will also support educational activities, including WWU marine science courses held at SPMC, graduate student thesis projects, and research and internships activities pursued at the Marine Center by undergraduate students. Thus, this project will promote understanding of processes affecting Washington State's marine ecosystems and will contribute to the training of the next generation of marine scientists. The equipment to be purchased on the project includes an automated chemistry analyzer for measuring seawater nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, urea, phosphate, silicate, and sulfate; a titration system for measuring dissolved oxygen; and a UV/Vis spectrophotometer for measuring chlorophyll and other pigments. Supporting instrumentation for conducting these analyses including a refrigerated centrifuge for processing samples for pigment analyses, an analytical balance and ultrapure water filtration system for preparing reagents, and a multi-port filtration system for processing water samples will also be purchased. The equipment will be housed in the Shannon Point Marine Center's Marine Chemistry Facility and will be available for use by resident, WWU, and visiting scientists and students. The equipment will restore and expand the capacity of SPMC to conduct measurements of the chemical, physical, and biological properties of seawater; enable new or expanded studies of marine organisms and ecosystems; and allow SPMC to better monitor its ocean acidification and seawater system infrastructure. It will also allow staff at the facility to continue to add to its existing water quality database, which began in 1974 and is one of the longest running water quality databases in the region. For more about Shannon Point Marine Center, visit their website at https://www.wwu.edu/spmc/.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.