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Humidity Chambers to Oceanlab
Weiss Gallenkamp recently supplied two VC 4100 Temperature & Humidity Chambers to Oceanlab, based at The University of Aberdeen.
The chambers will help to study Marine biodiversity-ecosystem processes under uncertain environmental futures
This three year project is sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is being conducted jointly by the University of Aberdeen, the University of St. Andrews and the University of York. The experimental work is being undertaken at Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen http://www.oceanlab.abdn.ac.uk.
Human induced changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and biodiversity are expected to have dramatic consequences on ecosystem processes within the next 50-100 years. The global average surface temperature has increased over the 20th century by 0.6oC and small scale environmental variation is increasingly occurring.
Marine environments are particularly vulnerable to such changes. Approximately 40% of the world's population lives within 100km of the coast and a significant proportion of these inhabitants depend on the ocean for food, economic prosperity and well-being. It is therefore crucial to determine how future environmental changes might affect these marine environments.
This project involves examining the behaviour of a variety of inter-tidal sediment dwelling organisms under a range environmental conditions. These organisms are placed in small aquaria containing sediment and seawater and the environmental chambers allow the generation a variety of temperature and CO2 concentration regimes. Crucially different levels of temperature oscillations about a mean level can be produced, thus allowing the simulation of increased temperature variation. The level of ecosystem processes such as levels of nutrient release into the water column, and sediment mixing will then be monitored.
The two VC4100 Temperature & Humidity Test Chambers were supplied with Simpati Environmental Control Software. Simpati enables the optimum operation of the test chambers , and the integrated mnonitoring routine enhances the reliability of the systems. Thanks to the user friendly operation and self explanatory menu, test procedures become quick and easy to install. You decide to what extent and how frequently monitoring routines are carried out. The evaluation and documentation of test procedures is complete inside a few clicks.
SIMPATI can be integrated into your IT network and can be enabled to operate remotely over the internet.
The test chambers also came complete with a strengthened shelf at the base of the test chambers, to enable Oceanlab to place sufficiently sized aquaria into the chambers.
When it is noted that the oceans cover approximately 70% of the Earth's surface, the scale and importance of such activities for the marine and global systems becomes apparent. Through the project it is hoped to identify how different environmental futures might affect the relationship between biodiversity of the organisms living in the sediment and the level of these ecosystem processes, and it will also attempt to identify the mechanisms which will drive any changes in this relationship.
Weiss Gallenkamp manufacture & design standard & bespoke Environmental Test Chambers, Temperature Test Chambers Pharmaceutical Stability Test Cabinets and Humidity Test Chambers.
In addition to this, special projects are also undertaken such as Altitude Test Chambers, Pharmaceutical Stability Test Rooms, Plant Growth Rooms and applications for Automotive & Aerospace testing.
