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

FSML：提高香农角海洋中心的水质研究能力

• 批准号: 1917266
• 负责人: Kathryn Van Alstyne
• 金额: $ 15.17万
• 依托单位: Western Washington University
• 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: 2019-08-15 至 2021-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1917266&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: FSML; Increasing; Capacity; Water; Quality

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.

海洋水质分析是对海水物理、化学和生物成分的测量，对海洋科学研究至关重要。 例如，这些测量用于研究改变海水成分的过程，例如土地利用模式和气候变化的改变，以及水质变化对海洋植物和动物的影响。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)，水质测量用于了解萨利什海水域的动态以及当地水域生物的生物学和生态学。 海洋中心的研究人员还利用水质测量来监测实验室的海水系统及其海洋酸化设施。 为了更高效、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将购买新的仪器用于处理海水样品和导水质量测量。 这些仪器将供海洋中心的常驻科学家、华盛顿州贝灵厄姆 WWU 主校区的附属教员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 WWU 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，该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：海水亚硝酸盐、硝酸盐、铵、尿素、磷酸盐、硅酸盐、硫酸盐测定自动化化学分析仪；用于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支持仪器，包括用于处理颜料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，以及用于处理水样品的多端口过滤系统。这些设备将安置在香农角海洋中心的海洋化学设施中，可供居民、WWU 以及访问科学家和学生使用。该设备将恢复和扩大SPMC测量海水化学、物理和生物特性的能力；促进对海洋生物和生态系统的新的或扩大的研究；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添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，请访问其网站 https://www.wwu.edu/spmc/。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。