Aquacosm > Mesocosms > Tvärminne Mesocosm Facility (TMF)

Tvärminne Mesocosm Facility (TMF)

General Facility Information

Legal name of organisation (short name)

University of Helsinki

Country

Finland

Continent

Europe

Organisation address

University of Helsinki
P.O. Box 3
00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

Infrastructure (short name)

Tvärminne Mesocosm Facility (TMF)

Infrastructure address

Hanko peninsula, Finland

Coordinates / (routes, areas if non-static)

Facility location(s)

Description of the Infrastructure

Description of the infrastructure: The Tvärminne Mesocosm Facility (TMF) is the largest marine mesocosm facility in Finland located at Tvärminne Zoological Station (TZS). Located in a 600-ha nature reserve at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland in the northern Baltic Sea, the facility benefits from access to a large area of coastal brackish water characterised by low levels of pollution and physical disturbance. TMF has the facilities and the long-term experience to set up flexible mesocosms of up to 50 m3 volume in the field. In addition, 12 indoor 600-litre mesocosms will be available in 2021. There are excellent background data to support mesocosm experiments addressing impacts on long-term environmental change. Cold winters make the site an excellent place for studies on the importance of sea ice. Well-equipped laboratories, several research vessels, sampling equipment, diving facilities, experimental aquarium facilities and long-term databases are also available on site.

The Baltic Sea (left) and test of a mesocosm bag (right) at Tvärminne, Norway. Photo: TZS

Primary contact information (PI)

Joanna Norkko

[user_only]joanna.norkko@helsinki.fi[/user_only]

Aleksandra Lewandowska

[user_only]aleksandra.lewandowska@helsinki.fi[/user_only]

Years of Mesocosm Experiments

Established 1902; Large field mesocosms run periodically since 1988

Description of Facility

pelagic – marine – outdoor

A large nature reserve surrounding TZS is dedicated to research, providing access to a pristine environment for field mesocosms. Research vessels and technical services support sampling and maintenance; a hovercraft allows winter-studies. Aquarium facilities with natural or artificial light are available for flow-through experiments at up to 100 000 m3 daily water capacity. A marine laboratory provides analytical services.

Controlled Parameters

Temperature, light, pH, pCO2, nutrient levels, community composition, turbidity

Research Topics

Biodiversity, stoichiometry, benthic ecology, plankton ecology, seagrass ecology, ice studies, reproductive evolution in fishes

Primary interests

Specialist areas

Source of Information

http://www.finmari-infrastructure.fi/field-stations/tvarminne-uhel/

Photos of experiments/installations

Pristine nature reserve for experimental set-ups

SYKE-MRC field mesocosm work at Tvärminne

Transnational Access Information

Infrastructure (short name)

Tvärminne Mesocosm Facility (TMF)

Modality of access

Modality of access under AQUACOSM: A total of at least 360 person-days and 150 h of ship time will be allocated to external users through AQUACOSM Transnational Access provision in years 2-4. Access to a minimum of 4 persons is offered for an average of 30 days each year. The duration of typical experiments is 2-5 weeks. Users also have access to small boats and equipment for sampling mesocosms, to a larger vessel to deploy them, and to labs equipped with standard equipment and disposables. As mesocosms are specifically designed for each experiment, they can be made and deployed in a range of sizes and habitats (sheltered to exposed, shallow to deep) depending on user needs. Costs will be declared on the basis of a combination of Unit and Actual Access Costs, the latter covering specific support needed from UH-TZS staff (27 € and on average 344 € per user day, respectively, and 106 € and on average 57 € per hour of ship time, respectively).

Modality of access under AQUACOSM-plus: A total of at least 500 person-days will be allocated to external users through AQUACOSM-plus TA provision. It is anticipated that AQUACOSM-plus will support stays of at least 3-4 persons for 57 days per year in two seasons between M10-45. The duration of typical experiments is 2-5 weeks. Users also have access to small boats and equipment for sampling mesocosms, to a larger vessel to deploy them, and to labs equipped with standard equipment and disposables. As mesocosms are specifically designed for each experiment, they can be made and deployed in a range of sizes and habitats (sheltered to exposed, shallow to deep) depending on user needs. Access costs will be declared on the basis of actual cost, covering specific support needed from UH-TZS staff.

Unit of access

What service and support facilities are available

Services currently offered by the infrastructure: TMF offers access to mesocosms, lab space and vessels for deploying and sampling mesocosms, sampling equipment, and SCUBA diving facilities. Logistic support can be offered both for setting up mesocosms and sampling. In addition, there are aquaria and other indoor facilities for sample incubation under controlled temperature and light regimes. Running sea water is supplied at rates of up to 100 000 m3 daily. Weather data can be obtained from a weather station on site. Given that 250-300 scientists, 30% of them international guests, work about 5500 days per year at TZS, a range of laboratories for chemical and biological analyses and microscopy are available. This includes a radioisotope lab. Laboratory analyses for standard physico-chemical analyses can be provided and various analytical instruments, including a mass spectrometer, are available for additional analyses. Training in the use of equipment and techniques is provided upon request. A new research vessel, a catamaran 18 m long, will be operational in 2020. Mesocosm experiments at TFM can involve large groups of researchers, because the size of the mesocosms enables repeatedly large sample volumes and accommodation on site can be offered for over 80 guests. A number of large mesocosm experiments have been conducted at TMF since 1988. Research topics have ranged from relationships of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning to links between eutrophication and algal-bloom dynamics, effects of climate change and other human-induced environmental changes on marine species, and the importance of sea ice in coastal marine environments.

Support offered under AQUACOSM: Users supported by AQUACOSM TA will have access to lab space, the equipment and services listed above, standard disposables and administrative and logistic support as agreed upon in a user-access contract. Staff will provide training in the use of the facilities where necessary as well as information on historic data, on-going studies and site specificities (e.g. species distributions and phaenology, habitat characteristics). Technical support can include a boat driver and field and laboratory technicians. Other amenities include lodging and in-house lunch restaurants. This support to visiting scientists is standard operational procedure.

Support offered under AQUACOSM-plus: Users will have access to lab space, the equipment and services listed above, standard disposables and administrative and logistic support as agreed upon in a user-access contract. Staff will provide training in the use of the facilities where necessary as well as information on historic data, on-going studies and site specificities (e.g. species distributions and phenology, habitat characteristics). Technical support can include a boat driver and field and laboratory technicians. Other amenities include lodging and an in-house lunch restaurant. This support to visiting scientists is standard operational procedure.

Accommodation

Dormitories with ca 100 beds, full board, self-service kitchens, sea-side sauna

Special rules