FSML: Acquisition of a CTD/Rosette Sampling System for the R/V Gulf Challenger Serving the Marine Laboratories at the University of New Hampshire

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is awarded a grant to purchase a modern conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instrument, sampling rosette, and winch system for the R/V Gulf Challenger. This system will provide a new and essential capacity in support of research and education at three of its marine laboratories, including: (a) the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory on the shores of the Great Bay/Little Bay estuarine system; (b) the Gregg Marine Science Complex, in New Castle, New Hampshire at the confluence of the Piscataqua River and the Gulf of Maine; and (c) the Shoals Marine Laboratory, located on the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine. The high resolution vertical profiling of hydrographic properties (conductivity, salinity, temperature), physiochemical properties (photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)), and surrogates for biological and geological processes (dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a fluorescence and beam transmittance) that this CTD system will provide is an essential component of oceanographic field work and will immediately impact numerous ongoing studies at UNH. These include research on ocean carbonate chemistry, climate linkages to coastal productivity in the Gulf of Maine, nutrient over-enrichment within the Great Bay Estuary, coastal and ocean mapping, and ocean color satellite remote sensing, as well as support of visiting investigator and student research. Broader impacts of this project include: (a) supporting the education of over 200 undergraduate and graduate students per year in courses that use the R/V Gulf Challenger; (b) improving the advanced scientific instrumentation available to graduate students pursuing research in the Western Gulf of Maine; (c) enhancing training of undergraduate and high school students undertaking summer courses at the Shoals Marine Laboratory; (d) supporting the training of the 170 UNH Marine Docents and the "K to Gray" educational programs that they provide to hundreds of students annually through New Hampshire Sea Grant; and (e) enhancing public education through experiential "Discovery Cruises" and through the UNH Marine Program's "Know the Coast Day" that impact hundreds of the general public each year.