Award Data

Categorical theory has recently been successfully applied to translate information from one computer system to another. Researchers at MIT have developed a prototype software tool based on category theory for solving information-integration programs. The tool has successfully solved small-scale information-integration problems including a problem identified by NIST about enriching the manufacturin ...

Maine Fresh Sea Farms (MFSF) will build a multi-species, multi-season prototype farm with the goal of having crops of fresh sea vegetables available throughout the year. What isn’t utilized fresh will be dried for longer-term storage and used in other products. Our team will gather data on water quality, nutrients, light levels, and hydrodynamics to assemble profiles of key parameters that deter ...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are primary drivers of global climate change. Hence there is a crucial need to quantify their sources and sinks. A powerful method to constrain source and sink strengths is the analysis of the relative proportions of isotopic variants of GHG’s in atmospheric samples like those collected globally by NOAA’s Cooperative Air Sampling Network. Measurements that are ca ...

There are currently no inexpensive, expendable air-deployed monitoring systems (Dropsondes) that measure atmospheric data and oceanographic as a function of depth. These are important data in predicting the intensity and path of hurricanes. Boston Engineering proposes to provide NOAA with a solution to this challenge with the Multi-Purpose Above Surface/Below Surface Expendable Dropsonde (MASED) p ...

During the harmful algal blooms (HAB), marine algal toxins reach concentrations high enough to cause various neurological and gastrointestinal disorders through inhalation of the toxin or consumption of contaminated shellfish. Brevetoxins, produced by dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, are known to disrupt neurological processes to cause an illness called neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. The timely rec ...

A central part of NOAA’s mission is to develop and distribute scientific data, including large-scale climate, weather, marine, and coastal information for regional and national analysis. NOAA has also developed local data gathering tools on an as-needed basis. While these approaches demonstrate the power of local data collection, no existing tool meets the broad needs of environmental community ...

The use of unattended floats, platforms, and drones addresses the immense challenge of cost-effectively characterizing the chemistry of the oceans. The proposed program strengthens this capability by demonstrating the feasibility of Laser Fluorescence Enhanced Flame Spectrophotometry (LFEFS) for the simultaneous and high precision measurement of calcium and strontium. These are key elements of the ...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere are primary drivers of global climate change and hence there is a crucial need to quantify their sources and sinks. A general technique to constrain source and sink strengths is the analysis of the relative proportions of isotopic variants of GHG's. These measurements must be performed with extremely high precision. The gold standard technique, i ...

There are currently no inexpensive observing systems that detect temperature, salinity and currents under the ocean's surface - all important factors in predicting the intensity of hurricanes. Boston Engineering proposes to develop the Multi-Purpose Above Surface/Below Surface Expendable Dropsondes (MASED). Our design builds on the highly successful air dropsondes already in use, combined with a ...

This Phase I proposal determines the feasibility of growing multiple species of macroalgae in commercial marine aquafarm environments. Marine aquaculture is a logical outgrowth of successful wild harvest seaweed businesses over the last several years. Developing a marine aquaculture prototype will foster the science of sea farming. Extending growing seasons for multi-species would provide year ...