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WHOI Funding
and Awards --> Cecil H. and
Ida M. Green Technology Innovation Awards -->
1999 Abstracts
Abstracts of 1999 Cecil H. and
Ida M. Green Technology Innovation Awards
Large
Whale Medical Intervention--Strategies for Developing
Technology and Approaches
Michael Moore
Biology Department
Terri Hammar
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department
and
Scott Kraus and Andrew Stamper
New England Aquarium
The NW Atlantic population of right
whales is the best known group of large whales in
the world, as a result of the 25 year New England
Aquarium sighting catalog of these c. 300 individuals.
Recent life-threatening fishing gear entanglements
and potential disease reports from these whales have
prompted consideration of options for medical intervention.
The endangered status of this population makes it
worthwhile to go to extreme individual efforts. Unfortunately,
these whales are not relaxed patients, they are an
order of magnitude larger than the largest terrestrial
animals currently subject to veterinary attention,
and the technology to deliver drugs or handle an animal
this size has not been developed. In the last 6 months,
we have identified potential applications for sedatives,
antibiotics, steroids, and local anesthetics. This
project will convene a small workshop of experts to
design the drug therapies necessary for these tasks.
Designation of the drugs of choice, and hence the
volume and state of the pharmaceuticals to be delivered
will in turn drive an engineering design and fabrication
exercise to enable the delivery of these drugs. Field
therapy of such large free-ranging animals has never
been attempted. Successful deployment of these tools
will generate a whole new era in the clinical management
of large whales, resulting in the potential for significant
applied federal support as management efforts for
these endangered species continue.
Development of a High Resolution
Seismic System to Image the Subsurface Structure
of Hydrothermal Fields
R. A. Sohn
Geology and Geophysics Department
Seafloor hydrothermal systems have provided
a fascinating, multidisciplinary, field of research
ever since their initial discovery in 1979 on the
Galapagos Spreading Center. Interest has recently
accelerated with the realization that hydrothermal
systems tap into a biological reservoir located within
the Earthïs interior. A major shortcoming of virtually
all methods of investigation currently being applied
to seafloor hydrothermal systems is that they rely
on samples and images taken at the seafloor. In contrast,
the vast majority of the minerals and biomass associated
with hydrothermal circulation and deposition, and
indeed the deep biosphere itself, are hidden beneath
the seafloor.
I propose to develop a high-resolution
seismic system that will allow for the imaging of
hydrothermal structures in the shallow crust beneath
the seafloor. The backbone of the system is a cable
comprised of 16 synchronously sampled ocean bottom
hydrophones. The cable would be laid out around hydrothermal
fields with JASON, and would be used as a receiver
for bottom shots fired by the NOBEL gun. By using
a common clock, extremely small timing differences
(2-3 ins) can be measured from one hydrophone on the
cable to the next, thereby permitting the imaging
of small features (>10 m) that are believed to be
associated with hydrothermal systems. Because of NSFïs
recent major initiative for an Ocean Bottom Seismometer
Facility, it will be very difficult to convince them
to fund this new instrument in the near term. However,
with the instrument developed and in place, the current
focus on sub-seafloor biology and fluid flow should
provide fertile ground for a series of explorations
at vent fields around the globe.
Coulometric
Capacitance Microrespirometry: High Precision Respirometry
for Metabolic Studies in Marine Plankton
Scott M. Gallager
Biology Department
and
Albert M. Bradley
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department
Our understanding of population dynamics
in the plankton is limited by lack of data on the
bioenergetics of the individual. An individualïs
behavioral and physiological response to a dynamic
environment, its growth rate, and its chances for
survival are all intimately linked to its metabolic
demand and energy-partitioning strategy. Although
the need for this critical data is uniformly recognized
by plankton ecologists, metabolic research with
marine zooplankton and fish larvae is at a virtual
standstill because of the poor resolving power of
available microrespirometry techniques. Coulometric
capacitance microrespirometry is a high precision
technique ideal for the measurement of extremely
small O2 consumption rates over extended periods
of time. We propose to develop a coulometric capacitance
microrespirometry system for the specific use with
plankton-sized marine organisms. This system will
provide continuous metabolic records at the scale
of the individual sparking renewed interest in how
individuals respond physiologically to dynamic environmental
conditions.
Development
and Testing of a Novel In-Situ Beta Detector for
Marine Applications
Ken O. Buesseler and John Andrews
Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department
and
Terence Hammar
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department
We propose to explore the use of in-situ
beta detectors for measuring beta particles in the
upper ocean. If measurements of thorium-234, a naturally
occurring particle flux proxy, can be made in-situ,
it would open up a wide range of exciting opportunities
in ocean sciences. This request is particularly
timely, given the planning for the new Global Ocean
Observing System (GOOS), and the specific commercial
development of robust beta detectors that might
be adapted to ocean science uses. The applications
of such measurements would be quite broad, including:
studies of the role of the oceans in the removal/storage
of anthropogenic CO2; understanding the biological
and physical processes responsible for particle
formation, sinking and remineralization; quantifying
temporal and spatial variability of the sinking
fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC), associated
nutrients (C, N, P), and pollutants (PCBs, PAHs,
heavy metals) in the upper ocean; and for the monitoring
of radioactive contamination/spills in the vicinity
of power plants. Arrangements have been made to
bring a newly adapted portable beta detector to
WHOI (no cost loanæBetaScint Inc., Kemmewick, WA),
assuming we can provide the support for testing
and adapting the detector for under ocean applications.
We thus seek support for lab, dock and field testing
of the detector and engineering design improvements
that are critically important in launching this
novel tool in ocean sciences.
High Resolution
Salinity Measurements
R. W. Schmitt
Physical Oceanography Department
and
Neil Brown
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department
Initial development of a new high
resolution CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth measurement
system) is proposed. Such an instrument is needed
to measure the very weak temperature and salinity
gradients in the deep ocean, in order to understand
their finescale variations and relation to turbulence
and mixing. This new CTD would be an essential element
of a new High Resolution Profiler (HRP, Schmitt
et al., 1988), which is being designed to
explore the remarkable near-bottom enhancement of
mixing which we have discovered in the past few
years (Toole et al., 1994; Polzin et al.,
1996; 1997, Ledwell et al., 1999). The
present 25-year-old design is limited to 16-bit
resolution; we will use modern electronics in the
new design and expect to achieve noise levels equivalent
to 20-22 bits. This means the least count in temperature
will be reduced from 0.0005°C to 0.00003°
to 0.000007°C. This unprecedented precision
is necessary to measure the very weak stratification
of the abyss. This will enable new insights into
turbulent mixing in the deep sea, a research area
of great interest in the coming decade. As a by-product,
we also expect to achieve a design resistant to
biological fouling suitable for low cost deployment
on expendable drifters and floats.
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