Shoals Marine Laboratory
Encyclopedia
Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) is a seasonal marine field station located on Appledore Island
, Maine
. Appledore Island is the largest of the Isles of Shoals
archipelago, a group of rocky islands just offshore of the border between Maine and New Hampshire
. The laboratory is cooperatively operated and maintained by Cornell University
and the University of New Hampshire
. Shoals is a residential facility where participants and staff all live together in a close-knit learning community. SML's academic program runs from May through August to accommodate off-campus study for undergraduates. Limited access for research can be arranged during the off-season. Access to Appledore Island is provided by Shoals Marine Laboratory vessels operated by laboratory personnel. SML administrative offices are at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, and at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire
.
An academic day at Shoals consists of laboratory and classroom time, combined with extensive fieldwork. Fieldwork typically includes excursions along Appledore's rocky intertidal zone
and seabird nesting colonies, visits to neighboring islands to study harbor seals, terns, and archaeological sites, off-shore cruises, and trips to the Maine/New Hampshire coast to study mud flats, salt marshes, and bogs. Lessons on sustainable living are incorporated into the experience. Credit course offerings range from survey courses like Field Marine Science to more specialized courses like Field Ornithology, Underwater Research, and Ecology of Animal Behavior. Other programs, workshops, and citizen science opportunities include Biological Illustration, a course about Forensic Science, and Island Archaeology.
grant. The RIFS program allows undergraduates to perform a full research project - from proposal to research paper and presentation - in the course of a summer. It also provides participants with coverage of room and board.
Several classes work on small research projects, often involving a proposal and initial research. Students in the underwater research course, for example, spend time becoming AAUS researchers while performing research on a subtidal organism of their choice. Students in the introductory field marine science course contribute to the yearly transect
study conducted around the island.
The lab also hosts and works with visiting researchers from across the country, including the UNH-AIRMAP air monitoring group, NOAA, ICARTT, a migratory bird banding program, the New Hampshire Fish and Game tern restoration project on White Island
, gull research with Dr. Julie Ellis, and honey bee research with Dr. Tom Seeley.
Appledore Island, originally named Hog Island, was visited by Scandinavia
ns 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 a major fire at 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 control of the island during World War II and a period of vandalism 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.
Fuel
Propane for hot water and cooking is shipped out to the island on the lab's boats in 100 pound 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 35 gallons of diesel a day based on 2009 reports, supporting a base load of 30 kilowatts. 70 gallons of diesel a day are consumed when the lab's reverse osmosis water system is running. Conservation efforts and green energy - a 7.5 kilowatt Burgee turbine and a solar panel array - have allowed the purchase and installation of a smaller 27 kW diesel generator. This smaller generator can often provide necessary power instead of the 65-kilowatt generator alternative. Electrical utilities are delivered throughout the island by in ground or above ground shielded cables carrying primarily AC 60 Hz power. The lab plans to install more solar panels and continue conservation efforts in the near future.
Communications
Shoals currently uses a 5.8 GHz wireless link which provides a connection from a New Castle, NH base station to the WWII radio tower on the island. Internet access is distributed to the buildings via a fiber, ethernet, and wireless network. Island staff carry VHF radios for inter-island communication and cell phones for mainland phone calls. Vonage
is used for more formal office phone and fax needs. VHF channel 80A is monitored for boat to island communication.
Disposal services
Waste is sorted at every collection point into compost, trash, and recycling. Trash and recycling are carried off the island weekly; trash is disposed of by contractors and recycling is brought to a recycling center. Compost is moved to composting bins on the northern side of the island where it is allowed to decompose over the winter.
Sewage
Sewage is treated with a subsurface leach field
and Clivus Multrum composting toilet installations. Eljen In-Drain technology is used in order to decrease the size of the leach field as gravel must be imported to the island by barge. The success of the Clivus installation has opened the way for more composting toilet installations. No sewage is pumped into the ocean, although a chlorine
and sodium bisulfite
sanitizing treatment was used to accomplish this in the past.
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 provides fresh water if available well water does not meet demand.
sailboat.
Appledore Island
Appledore Island, Maine, is the largest of the Isles of Shoals located about seven miles off the Maine/New Hampshire coast....
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Appledore Island is the largest of the Isles of Shoals
Isles of Shoals
The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately off the east coast of the United States, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine.- History :...
archipelago, a group of rocky islands just offshore of the border between Maine and New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. The laboratory is cooperatively operated and maintained by Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
. Shoals is a residential facility where participants and staff all live together in a close-knit learning community. SML's academic program runs from May through August to accommodate off-campus study for undergraduates. Limited access for research can be arranged during the off-season. Access to Appledore Island is provided by Shoals Marine Laboratory vessels operated by laboratory personnel. SML administrative offices are at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, and at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...
.
Academics
SML is dedicated to undergraduate education and research in marine science, and has been offering courses since 1966. The laboratory offers a wide variety of summer credit courses for undergraduates and high school students along with programs and workshops for graduate students, teachers, professionals, and the general public. All Shoals programs provide participants with the opportunity to become immersed in the world of marine science under the tutelage of an academic teaching staff from Cornell, UNH, and other leading academic institutions.An academic day at Shoals consists of laboratory and classroom time, combined with extensive fieldwork. Fieldwork typically includes excursions along Appledore's rocky intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
and seabird nesting colonies, visits to neighboring islands to study harbor seals, terns, and archaeological sites, off-shore cruises, and trips to the Maine/New Hampshire coast to study mud flats, salt marshes, and bogs. Lessons on sustainable living are incorporated into the experience. Credit course offerings range from survey courses like Field Marine Science to more specialized courses like Field Ornithology, Underwater Research, and Ecology of Animal Behavior. Other programs, workshops, and citizen science opportunities include Biological Illustration, a course about Forensic Science, and Island Archaeology.
Research
Emphasizing its dedication to undergraduate research, the lab has a program called Research Internships in Field Science (RIFS). This program is the successor to the Research Experience for Undergraduates program which was funded by a seven year National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
grant. The RIFS program allows undergraduates to perform a full research project - from proposal to research paper and presentation - in the course of a summer. It also provides participants with coverage of room and board.
Several classes work on small research projects, often involving a proposal and initial research. Students in the underwater research course, for example, spend time becoming AAUS researchers while performing research on a subtidal organism of their choice. Students in the introductory field marine science course contribute to the yearly transect
Transect
A transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study .It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and, at the same time, obtain the distance of the object from the path...
study conducted around the island.
The lab also hosts and works with visiting researchers from across the country, including the UNH-AIRMAP air monitoring group, NOAA, ICARTT, a migratory bird banding program, the New Hampshire Fish and Game tern restoration project on White Island
Isles of Shoals
The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately off the east coast of the United States, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine.- History :...
, gull research with Dr. Julie Ellis, and honey bee research with Dr. Tom Seeley.
History
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
ns sailing from Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
before the 17th century. Europeans arrived in 1614 to take advantage of the favorable fishing conditions in the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
. The island saw an exodus in 1680 and sustained a small population until 1847. Thomas Laighton and daughter Celia Thaxter
Celia Thaxter
Celia Laighton Thaxter was an American writer of poetry and stories. She was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.-Life and work:...
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 a major fire at 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 control of the island during World War II and a period of vandalism 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
Star Island
Star Island is one of the Isles of Shoals that straddle the border between New Hampshire and Maine, seven miles from the mainland in the Atlantic Ocean. Star Island is the largest of the four islands in the group that are located in New Hampshire...
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
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers. Established in 1930, it is the largest independent oceanographic research...
. 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
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
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 difficult. 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 pound 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 35 gallons of diesel a day based on 2009 reports, supporting a base load of 30 kilowatts. 70 gallons of diesel a day are consumed when the lab's reverse osmosis water system is running. Conservation efforts and green energy - a 7.5 kilowatt Burgee turbine and a solar panel array - have allowed the purchase and installation of a smaller 27 kW diesel generator. This smaller generator can often provide necessary power instead of the 65-kilowatt generator alternative. Electrical utilities are delivered throughout the island by in ground or above ground shielded cables carrying primarily AC 60 Hz power. The lab plans to install more solar panels and continue conservation efforts in the near future.
Communications
Shoals currently uses a 5.8 GHz wireless link which provides a connection from a New Castle, NH base station to the WWII radio tower on the island. Internet access is distributed to the buildings via a fiber, ethernet, and wireless network. Island staff carry VHF radios for inter-island communication and cell phones for mainland phone calls. Vonage
Vonage
Vonage is a publicly held commercial voice over IP network and SIP company that provides telephone service via a broadband connection. The company's name is a play on their motto "Voice-Over-Net-AGE"....
is used for more formal office phone and fax needs. VHF channel 80A is monitored for boat to island communication.
Disposal services
Waste is sorted at every collection point into compost, trash, and recycling. Trash and recycling are carried off the island weekly; trash is disposed of by contractors and recycling is brought to a recycling center. Compost is moved to composting bins on the northern side of the island where it is allowed to decompose over the winter.
Sewage
Sewage is treated with a subsurface leach field
Septic drain field
Septic drain fields, also called leach fields or leach drains are used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges from the septic tank. A septic tank, the septic drain field, and the associated piping compose a complete septic system. The septic drain field is effective for...
and Clivus Multrum composting toilet installations. Eljen In-Drain technology is used in order to decrease the size of the leach field as gravel must be imported to the island by barge. The success of the Clivus installation has opened the way for more composting toilet installations. No sewage is pumped into the ocean, although a chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
and sodium bisulfite
Sodium bisulfite
Sodium bisulfite is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NaHSO3. Sodium bisulfite is a food additive with E number E222. This salt of bisulfite can be prepared by bubbling sulfur dioxide in a solution of sodium carbonate in water...
sanitizing treatment was used to accomplish this in the past.
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 provides fresh water if available well water does not meet demand.
Research vessels
The lab is serviced by two research vessels: the 47', 34.49 gross ton R/V John M. Kingsbury and the 35.7', 13 gross ton 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 R/V John M. 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. The lab also operates various smaller vessels, such as zodiacs, small power boats, and a 19' Cape Dory TyphoonCape Dory Yachts
Cape Dory Yachts was a Massachusetts based fiberglass boat builder which operated from 1963 to 1996.- History :Over the years the company was building boats, they produced several thousand ranging from 10 to 45 feet in size....
sailboat.
Additional reading
- 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