Controlled Environment Facilities for the Marine Biological Laboratory

This project will provide funds for new controlled environment facilities at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL - https://www.mbl.edu). This will provide new capabilities to expand research on plant and soil processes, and microbial interactions with plants and animals. Global change is a multi-factor phenomenon making the study of how organisms and ecosystems will respond to future changes all the more challenging.

Facilities which can simultaneously control multiple relevant environmental drivers are needed to address relevant global change questions. These facilities will be used to support research and education on a broad array of topics, which include the effects of climate change and human land use on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, controls on greenhouse gas release from soils and sediments, studies on the evolution of photosynthesis, studies on the microbiome of plants and animals, and investigations into the metabolic capabilities of microbial communities and microbes living in extreme environments. The facility will be used by faculty, visiting scientists and students.

The project will install two new Conviron growth chambers equipped with state of the art temperature, CO2, humidity, and lighting systems to replace older systems. The two new chambers will also be equipped with a new control system allowing for remote monitoring of the chambers and experiments. The room housing the new growth chambers will be greatly improved by moving three compressors outside, reducing the noise in the room.

For studies of environmental controls over microbial activities the project will also include the installation of a Coy anaerobic chamber enabling preparation of anaerobic microbial cultures and experiments requiring strict anaerobic conditions. This chamber will enable new capacity for diverse work with anaerobic microbes year-round at the MBL. The room housing the new growth chambers will be greatly improved by moving three compressors (those for the two new chambers, and one for an existing chamber) outside, greatly reducing the noise in the room.

MBL’s growth chambers have been heavily used for education at all levels, from high school to Ph.D. level work and students will continue to have access to the new facilities.

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.