The University of Alaska - Fairbanks requests funding for upgrades to the seawater system. The seawater system would be upgraded to a dual line system to provide redundancy, and a straining system would be installed to control line clogs due to debris and marine organisms. An improved seawater system would provide a guaranteed uninterrupted flow to the Hood lab and the mooring shop. The Hood lab supports a variety of biological research which requires a constant flow of seawater to sustain live organisms .It is home to the Alliance for Coastal Technology (ACT) which uses the system to test underwater equipment. The endocrinology lab would also benefit from an upgraded seawater system as future studies with fish and invertebrates are being pursued.
In recent years, the wet lab has housed studies on a variety of live animals including halibut, zooplankton, blue and red king crab, Tanner and snow crab, sablefish, abalone, decorated warbonnet, searcher, and eulachon. These studies have increased our knowledge of the basic biology and habits of these organisms, as well as tested materials and techniques to further their study in the open ocean.
Broader Impacts:
The lab has a consistent history of supporting graduate student research, with numerous students from around the country residing here and carrying out research in the labs served by the seawater system. In this regard the SMC operates as a national center of sorts, particularly as the home port for the Alaska regional research vessel, and is unique in both its location and service to the oceanographic community. Research and training productivity of the facility is solid, with the SMC serving as the home base for both students and faculty, and as a staging base for visiting scientists. The SMC also provides a unique outreach to native populations, despite being in a small and remote area. It has done an excellent job in fostering the NOSB competition by involving several high schools, and by hosting the national competition in 2008. It has met the challenge of its remote location (it is 500 miles from the main campus at Fairbanks) through the use of video conferencing classes. The SMC hosts visitors to the neighboring Alaska Sea Life Center and they also host the Alaska region National Ocean Science Bowl (a marine-oriented quiz competition for high school students). They recently hosted the national Ocean Science Bowl competition.
This project involved upgrades to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Seward Marine Center's seawater intake system. It will benefit all scientific projects taking place at the Center now and in the future. A new intake line was deployed to replace the damaged line that would lose suction due to a hole that was exposed at extreme low tides. Duplex strainers were installed that prevent marine debris and fish from damaging the Fybroc seawater pumps. The strainers allow for easy removal of debris from the system before reaching the pump stage. Since the new line and strainers were put into operation in September 2010, only one juvenile wolf eel and some small shrimp have entered via the suction line. These were caught in the duplex strainers before reaching the pumps, preventing costly replacement of mechanical seals at $900 each and six to eight hours of labor. With this new system, the flow of seawater does not need to be interrupted to clean out the strainers, and a continuous flow of seawater up to 200 gallons per minute is being provided for science. In recent years the wet lab has housed studies on a variety of live animals including halibut, zooplankton, blue and red king crab, Tanner and snow crab, sablefish, abalone, decorated warbonnet, searcher and eulachon. Currently at the forefront of research supported by SMC is the Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation and Biology Program (AKCRABB). The SMC collaborates with the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish hatchery on this project by holding brood stock and providing a redundant source of seawater for hatching and rearing king crab. These upgrades to the Seward Marine Center's seawater system provide opportunities for the science community that may not be readily available elsewhere in Alaska. The Seward Marine Center (SMC) is the only university owned marine station in Alaska and the northern-most university marine station in the United States. SMC provides access to salt water laboratories and the coastal environment. There are excellent laboratories, constant temperature chambers and a 4-plex apartment unit for visiting scientists. The recently enhanced seawater system, along with these amenities, provide a unique opportunity for conducting a wide variety of science.
