Year-round low temperature control for the Aquatron Seawater Laboratory

达尔豪西大学由NSERC支持的水龙实验室是加拿大最大的大学水产研究设施。这些设施包括六个大型水箱，包括一个直径15米、深3米的水池和一个直径3米、深11米的水池，以及各种较小的水箱、研究空间和设备。多年来，Aquatron一直支持不同学科的国内和国际学术、政府和行业研究，从鱼类和双壳类生理学的基础科学到现实世界的应用，如测试涡轮机对鱼类行为的影响，以及开发技术以改进珍贵物种的养殖实践。Aquatron的成功依赖于在这些设施中可以操纵和控制的实验条件的范围，以便测试特定的假设。这些受控条件允许准确地复制实验，并避免现场实验中无法控制的变量的混杂影响。Aquatron的关键功能之一是可以提供稳定的温控海水供应。水温是海洋生物生存的关键，影响着大多数物种的生存。Aquatron实验室设计了一系列热交换器和冷冻机，可以改变和控制直接从海洋抽出的海水的温度；然而，主冷冻机不再起作用，这限制了Aquatron进行低海水温度是关键变量的实验的能力。鉴于需要控制温度的海水，我们申请资金购买四台紧凑型冷冻机，以取代旧的和损坏的部分。用四台紧凑型冷水机组取代旧机组不仅在经济上是合理的，而且还提供了更多的通用性和风险管理。四台独立的小型冷冻机将允许高度适应性的配置，并将最大限度地减少由于依赖单个机组而导致的完全故障风险。拟议的设备将被至少8个研究项目普遍使用，并将为进一步研究消除技术障碍。这一改进将保证Aquatron多产培训高素质的人员，自2012年以来，Aquatron已经培训了76多名学生。最后，拟议的新冷冻机将提供在低温海水中进行实验所需的温度控制条件，这反过来将保证Aquatron实验室目前和未来的实验取得成功。

The NSERC-supported Aquatron Laboratory at Dalhousie University is the largest university aquatic research facility in Canada. The facilities include six large tanks, including a 15 m diameter, 3 m deep pool tank and a 3 m diameter, 11 m deep pool tank, as well as a wide variety of smaller tanks, research spaces and equipment. Over the years, the Aquatron has supported national and international academic, governmental, and industry research across different disciplines, from fundamental science on the physiology of fish and bivalves to real world applications such as testing the effects of turbines on fish behaviour and developing techniques to improve culture practices of valuable species. The success of the Aquatron relies on the range of experimental conditions that can be manipulated and controlled in these facilities in order to test specific hypotheses. These controlled conditions allow for accurate replication of experiments and avoid the confounding effects of variables that cannot be controlled in field experiments. One of the key features of the Aquatron is that it can provide a stable supply of temperature-controlled seawater. Water temperature is key for marine life, affecting the performance of most species. The Aquatron Laboratory was designed with a series of heat exchangers and a chiller that can modify and control the temperature of the seawater that is directly pumped from the ocean; however, the main chiller is no longer functioning, which limits the capabilities of the Aquatron to run experiments in which low seawater temperature is a crucial variable. Given the need for controlled-temperature seawater, we request funds to purchase four compact chillers to substitute the old and damaged piece. Replacing the old unit with four compact chillers is not only economically sound, but provides greater versatility and risk management. The four independent small chillers will allow highly-adaptable configurations and will minimize the risk of total failure due to reliance on a single unit. The proposed equipment will be commonly used by at least 8 research projects, and will also remove technical barriers for further research. This improvement will guarantee the prolific training of high qualified personnel at the Aquatron, which has trained more than 76 students since 2012. Concluding, the proposed new chillers will provide the temperature-controlled conditions that are needed to perform experiments in low-temperature seawater, which will in turn guarantee the success of current and future experiments at the Aquatron Laboratory.