德克萨斯大学海洋科学研究所 The University of Texas Marine Science Institute www.utmsi.utexas.edu
德克萨斯大学海洋科学研究所。该研究所是德克萨斯湾海岸历史最悠久的海洋科学领域的研究所。其研究领域涵盖海洋动植物的生理学、生化和生态学、海洋生态系统动力学、生物地球化学、海水养殖、毒理学和环境监测等。
The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, the oldest and most significant marine research facility on the Texas coast, is changing our understanding of the world's oceans and coasts and educating a global population dependent on the ocean ecosystem. What began humbly in 1941 as a small, rough-lumber shack on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Port Aransas is now home to cutting-edge research, education, and outreach programs.
Mission Statement
The Institute is dedicated to the three central functions of a major university (research, education, and outreach) as they apply to the Texas coastal zone and other marine environments. As an organized research unit, the primary goal of the Marine Science Institute is to improve our understanding of the marine environment through rigorous scientific investigations. This goal is accomplished through the research efforts of the scientific staff and the training of young scientists in cooperation with The University of Texas at Austin Department of Marine Science. The research and teaching functions take advantage of the unique facilities of the Institute and its shoreside location on the Texas Gulf Coast. The Institute operates the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve in support of its mission. The Institute’s research is broad and encompasses a variety of scientific disciplines, with emphases on Organismal Biology, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Biogeochemistry. The scope of this research ranges from molecular studies to ecosystem-level biological investigations plus biogeochemical studies of coastal regions as well as the world’s oceans. The disciplines of geology and physical oceanography are incorporated into our research and training programs on Texas coastal zones. To gauge our success, we monitor the number and quality of: graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) students enrolled in the Marine Science degree program or doing research at the Institute; federal and state funding; peer-reviewed publications; awards and honors for outstanding research and teaching; and the success of students who graduate from the degree program.
The Institute's 83,000 sq. ft. central complex is located on 72 acres of beach-front land and consists of a series of interconnected buildings containing laboratories, classrooms, televideo instruction room, offices, a library, museum, exhibit halls, visitor's center, auditorium, seminar rooms, and workshops.
A 10,000 sq. ft. wet-laboratory is supplied with filtered running seawater. Other structures on the grounds of the Institute include 9,500 sq. ft. of dormitories, a cafeteria, physical plant complex, garages, greenhouses, walk-in freezers, and several outdoor pool/habitat tanks. The five-acre boat basin provides quick access for our research vessels to both the bay systems and the Gulf of Mexico. The basin has been certified as a Clean Texas Marina by voluntarily adopting practices and measures to control pollution and to embrace the conservation ethic of individual responsibility for healthy land and water.
A new research pier allows direct access for research projects in the Aransas Pass tidal inlet connecting the Gulf with the bays. This 300 foot pier has a 1200 sq. ft. lab at its base and a 150 sq. ft. instrument room on the end. The terminus of the pier and instrument room house a weather station, tide gauge, current meter, and sensors for water temperature and salinity, all of which are transmitted to real time data displays in the Visitor's Center and main laboratory. The pier also has an electric winch for deploying sampling equipment such as plankton nets and large-mesh tide traps to study fluxes of biota through the inlet.
A mile west of the main building complex, the Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory (FAML) occupies 26,000 sq. ft. of buildings on 10 acres adjacent to the ship channel. This facility includes four large laboratories which provide for temperature and photoperiod control. The FAML complex provides facilities for research on spawning and rearing of marine finfish and crustaceans and affords unique opportunities for research utilizing captive animals. Both the main laboratories and the FAML facility have office and laboratory space available for visiting scientists.