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Facilities and Equipment Highlights
Specialized Facilities include:Seawater delivery system provides a spacious wet laboratory with 300 gallons/minute freshwater or salinity-controlled seawater; the system is fully computer-controlled.
Controlled environmental chambers, both outdoor and indoor,
provide ample temperature-controlled space for storage or experimentation.
Anaerobic facility provides oxygen-free atmosphere for working
with anaerobic organisms found in marine and estuarine sediments.
Coral ecology facility to culture coral and determine the
effects of various stressors (e.g., ultraviolet light, temperature, and water
quality) on corals and coral symbionts. The
coral culture and exposure systems have been designated as a Unique Facility
by EPA's Office of Research and Development.
Genomics and proteomics laboratory to identify biogeochemical
nutrient cycling; discovery of environmental stressor-induced mode-of-action
specific protein biomarkers; development of genomic tools for rapid screening
of endocrine disruptors and other contaminants.
Computational and Geospatial Science Laboratory This 7000
ft2 facility, completed in 2008, houses advanced computing capabilities for
large-scale mathematical modeling of coastal ecosystems, geographical information
systems applications, database management, and computer network and communications
support.
Image analysis system incorporates the use of high magnification
light microscopy with the digitizing ability of specialized cameras and computer
hardware and software to create, analyze, and quantify graphical images. An
AMBIS, computer-controlled image-capture system quantifies radionuclides on
gels, TLC plates, dot blots, slot blots, transfer membranes, etc. and non-radioactive
samples such as stained jells, blots, and autoradiograms. Such equipment allows
investigators to use computer power to rapidly capture and analyze multiple
or complex images to, for example, classify and quantify microorganisms and
compare images to detect and quantify differences.
Chemical analytical equipment includes high and low pressure liquid chromatographs with diode array, fluorescence, & MSD detectors, gas chromatographs equipped with mass spectrometer, electron-capture, flame ionization, and nitrogen/phosphorus detectors, SELDI Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometer with autosampler, radiomatic HPLC scintillation detector and microtiter plate liquid scintillationcCounter, C:H:N analyzers, TOC analyzer with solids module, Carlo-Erba elemental analyzer, Delta-plus isotope-ratio mass spectrometer. These items of equipment assist in detecting natural and anthropogenic chemicals in environmental samples and characterizing and quantifying the response of aquatic organisms to both natural and anthropogenic stressors.
Research Vessels, ranging in size from 10 to 27 ft., extend the laboratory into the waterways, bays, rivers, estuaries, wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico. The proximity of Gulf of Mexico ecosystems provides the ability to collect samples and return to the laboratory with live organisms in good condition, often within one day. The EPA's Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold is used by competitive request for research in open ocean waters. It has been used extensively by GED scientists in the hypoxic ("dead") zone off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas and in assessments of coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. The OSV Bold also supported a rapid assessment of Louisiana and Mississippi coastal waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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