Shoals Marine Laboratory

Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) is a marine field station in operation from mid April to mid October located on Appledore Island, Maine. Appledore is the largest of the Isles of Shoals. The lab also maintains a mainland estate in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and offices at Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire. The two universities operate the lab jointly under a covenant agreement.

Academics

SML prides itself on its dedication to undergraduate education and research. The lab also runs adult and family educational courses on the island. The course selection for undergraduates is varied and wide reaching [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_students_creditcourses.html] , centralizing on courses which apply best to a student concentrating in marine biology or ecology. There are also archaeology courses, a biological illustration course, a GIS course, and a course dealing with the type and operation of boats for biologists.

Course professors and students come from across the country and not just from Cornell and UNH. The lab offers generous financial aid to help students pay for the courses, which can be costly when paid in full. [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_fees.html]

Research

Emphasizing its dedication to undergraduate research, the lab has an undergraduate research program called Research Internships in Field Science (RIFS). This program is the successor to the successful Research Experience for Undergraduates program funded by a seven year National Science Foundation grant. The program allows undergraduates to perform a full research project - from proposal to research paper - in the course of a summer, providing them with a stipend and coverage of room and board.

Several classes work on small research projects, often involving a proposal and initial research. Students in the [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_cc_ur.html underwater research course] , for example, spend time becoming AAUS researchers while performing research on a subtidal organism of their choice. Students in the introductory [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_cc_fms.html field marine science] course contribute to the yearly transect study conducted around the island.

The lab also hosts visiting researchers from across the country, including the UNH-AIRMAP air monitoring group, NOAA, ICARTT, a migratory bird banding program, the NH Fish and Game/NH Autobon tern restoration project on White Island, gull research with Dr. Julie Ellis, and honey bee research with Dr. Tom Seeley. [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_research_visitingresearchers.html]

History

Appledore Island, originally named Hog Island, was visited by Scandinavians sailing from Greenland before the 17th century. Europeans arrived in 1614 to take advantage of the favorable fishing conditions in the Gulf of Maine. The island saw an exodus in 1680 and sustained a small population until 1847. Thomas Laighton and daughter Celia Thaxter helped to revitalize the island through Celia's hospitality, artistry, and garden. The garden has been restored as a tourist attraction today which helps generate revenue for SML. Celia's death in 1894, subdivision of land in 1908, and the burning of the Appledore Hotel in September 1914 led to the decline of this era in Appledore history. UNH's Marine Zoological Laboratory on Appledore thrived from 1928 to 1940. This was followed by government ownership of the island during World War II and a period of vandalisim into the 1970s.

The current form of the lab was conceived by Dr. John M. Kingsbury, a professor at Cornell. Having visited the Star Island conference center, he was keen to bring undergraduate university students out to the Isles of Shoals as an alternative to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The first group of students arrived on Star Island in 1966. Appledore Island, which was mostly uninhabited since World War II, was selected and developed from the late 1960s to early 1970s as the future home of the lab. UNH took interest in the project due to their proximity and previous association with the island. Dominic Gratta of Kittery, Maine directed his crew, assisted by students and early SML staff, in the refurbishing of old hotel and military era buildings as well as the construction of six new buildings and utility services.

Utility access

The lab's location on Appledore Island makes access to public utilities near to impossible. However, several strategies are employed to provide an experience similar to mainland living.

Fuel

Propane for hot water and cooking is shipped out to the island on the lab's boats in 100 lb canisters. Gasoline for island vehicles and light equipment is also shipped out on the boats. Diesel fuel for generators and heavy equipment is provided on a yearly basis by barge.

Electricity

The lab's generators use upwards of 100 gallons of diesel fuel a day during peak operating season, although this load is beginning to be alleviated by a new 7.5 kW Burgee turbine and a solar panel array. Electrical utilities are delivered throughout the island by in or above ground pipes carrying primarily AC 60 Hz power. The exception to this system is the power delivered to the turbine and wind turbine battery bank. The lab plans to install more solar panels in the near future.

Communications

The lab currently uses a radio-based telephone and fax system for office communications. Further, internet access is currently provided by a Tachyon satellite link. Internet access is distributed to the buildings via a fiber and wireless network.

Disposal services

Waste is sorted at every collection point into compost, trash, and recycling. Trash and recycling are carried off the island weekly to be picked up by mainland disposal contractors. Compost is moved to composting bins on the northern side of the island, where it is allowed to decompose for the winter season.

Sewage

Sewage is treated by the island's treatment plant with chlorine followed by sodium bisulfite to remove the chlorine. The treated sewage is disposed overboard off the northern side of the island. With an increasing focus on sustainability, the lab installed its first Clivus composting toilet in the summer of 2007 (previous composting toilets were installed but they did not work well). The success of the Clivus installation has opened the way for more composting toilet installations.

Fresh water

Water is obtained from a 20 foot well on the north side of the island. This supply can serve the island during peak times only if sufficient rain falls during the summer. A reverse osmosis backup system can provide ample fresh water if rain doesn't fall.

Research Vessels

The lab is serviced by two research vessels: the 47', 34.49 ton [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_gettingtosml_jmk.html R/V John M. Kingsbury] and the 36' R/V John B. Heiser. Both boats are actively used in transport of goods and people to the island as well as for research projects. The Kingsbury has a winch and a one ton crane for the deployment of research equipment and for the movement of heavy materials from the mainland to the island.

References

*Shoals Marine Laboratory: Visitor's Guide to Appledore Island
*Appledore Times, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Winter 2004, Vol. 3, No. 1
*The Shoals Marine Laboratory, ©1999 by Cornell University

External links

* [http://www.sml.cornell.edu/ Cornell SML website]
* [http://marine.unh.edu/sml/ UNH SML website]
* [http://airmap.unh.edu/data/data.html?site=AIRMAPIS AIRMAP live feed]