MRI: Acquisition of a Raman spectrometer for ocean acidification and marine debris research

海洋——以及它提供的生态系统产品和服务——面临着人类活动影响的挑战，包括由碳排放和污染引起的气候变化。海洋酸化和塑料垃圾是对海洋环境最持久的两个影响之一，因为二氧化碳和海洋中不可降解的垃圾滞留时间很长。人类排放的碳和塑料颗粒进入海洋的速度只会增加，而且两者都是累积的，这意味着这两种污染源的影响也在增加。海洋钙化生物对海洋酸化高度敏感，从浮游生物到鱼类再到鲸鱼等多种海洋物种都受到塑料的影响。研究海洋酸化和海洋垃圾最有力的工具之一是拉曼光谱法，这是一种使用激光探测矿物和聚合物结构特性的技术。该奖项提供了夏威夷夏威夷太平洋大学的拉曼光谱仪，该大学位于珊瑚礁附近，靠近太平洋塑料堆积的中心。新的拉曼光谱仪将促进对钙化生物构建外壳和骨骼机制的一系列研究。该仪器的高空间和光谱分辨率，结合其地形测绘和潜水物镜，将使钙化微尺度部位的化学条件量化，微米尺度带状模式的可视化，以及珊瑚，珊瑚藻类和有孔虫的体内分析成为可能。此外，该仪器将能够识别从海洋和夏威夷海滩收集的碎片中的聚合物，这些信息将有助于了解海洋环境中塑料的来源和命运。由于拉曼光谱法的非破坏性和快速分析能力，该仪器将随时可供访问研究人员使用，并且该仪器将成为新实验室课程的焦点，这将大大改善夏威夷夏威夷太平洋大学本科生和研究生的培训。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 ocean—and the ecosystem goods and services that it provides—faces a gauntlet of impacts from human activities including climate change caused by carbon emissions and pollution. Ocean acidification and plastic debris are among the two longest-lasting impacts to marine environments, owing to the long retention times of carbon dioxide and non-degradable debris in the ocean. The rates at which human carbon emissions and plastic particles enter the ocean are only increasing, and both are cumulative, meaning that the impacts of these two sources of pollution are also increasing. Marine calcifying organisms are highly sensitive to ocean acidification, and a wide range of marine species from plankton to fish to whales are affected by plastics. One of the most powerful tools available to investigate ocean acidification and marine debris is Raman spectrometry, a technique that uses lasers to probe the structural properties of minerals and polymers. This award provides for the acquisition of a Raman spectrometer at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, in a location uniquely situated adjacent to coral reefs and near the epicenter of plastic accumulation in the Pacific Ocean.The new Raman spectrometer will facilitate a range of studies into the mechanisms by which calcifying organisms build their shells and skeletons. The high spatial and spectral resolution of the instrument, combined with its topography mapping and submersible objectives, will enable quantification of the chemical conditions at the micro-scale site of calcification, visualization of micron-scale banding patterns, and in vivo analysis of corals, coralline algae, and foraminifera. Additionally, the instrument will enable identification of the polymers in debris collected from the ocean and Hawaiian beaches, information that will help understand the source and fate of plastics in the marine environment. With the non-destructive and rapid analysis capabilities of Raman spectrometry, the instrument will be readily available to visiting researchers, and the instrument will be the focal point of new laboratory classes that will substantially improve the training of undergraduate and graduate students at Hawaiʻi Pacific University.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.