Integrated Analytical Laboratory and Specialized Storage Renovation

Center For Coastal Studies, Inc., Provincetown

Investigators

Abstract

Over the last 40 years, the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) on outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts has advanced understanding of marine and coastal ecosystems, including: the biology of endangered species; the impacts of pollution on productive embayments; the effects of sea level rise on coastal resources and development; and the impacts of a changing ecosystem on marine mammals and fisheries. This award provides funds to expand research capability through the creation of a new Integrated Analytical Laboratory to facilitate research and opportunities for collaboration. Facilities for sediment analysis will help scientists understand complex coastal processes and help to guide adaptation and coastal resiliency actions that coastal communities must make. Such research is vital in light of the fact that sea levels are rising more dramatically in the northeast Atlantic than almost anywhere else in the world. Data from long-term population biology and ecology studies provide an invaluable foundation for assessing climate change impacts over the past 30 years and projecting into the future. They are particularly essential for understanding the remaining population of the endangered North Atlantic right whales that feed and nurse their young along the heavily industrialized and developed shore of eastern Massachusetts. The improvements will more than triple the size of current laboratory space, and expand opportunities for collaboration with other scientific and academic institutions. The new laboratory will consist of facilities for water quality analysis, biological sample analysis and sediment analysis. Expanded laboratory capacity for water quality analysis will be essential in helping the region implement its EPA 208 Water Quality plan and remedy issues of nitrogen pollution in Cape Cod?s bays, inlets and harbors. The new laboratory facilities will also protect sensitive research archives generated by the Center?s multi-decade history of marine mammal research. The improved facilities will increase opportunities for graduate students, interns and apprentices, and enhance CCS?s unique ability and opportunity to interact with the public, thanks to its prominence in environmental education and outreach in a popular tourist destination. CCS?s STEM-based school programs, more than 100 annual public programs, public kiosk and Marine Discovery Center, and other outreach directly impacts nearly 20,000 people of all ages each year. The products of research will also help resource managers to better protect threatened and endangered environments and species. For more information about the Center for Coastal Studies, please visit the website at: http://coastalstudies.org/.