Marine mesocosm optimisation: Images

Researchers involved in environmental studies often face the difficulty of understanding the effect of man-made products on the environment, simply because it would be unethical to test this in situ, e.g., one cannot add oil to the marine environment to determine its impact on the marine organisms and the environment as a whole. Researchers have to resort to mimicking the environment in the laboratory. This approach comes with a challenge - how do we mimic seawater or do we use natural seawater; is there enough oxygen entering the system; do we need to replace the water on a regular basis to ensure a healthy environment or not. The setup of these experimental systems (mesocosms) needs to be monitored on a daily basis while optimising the conditions.In this dataset, images are provided of the three Trials set up to optimise the mesocosm conditions:Experimental_Trials_1_and_2_Pictures: Adobe pdf document containing Images of mesocosm setups containing mussels and sediment, testing the use of site water (seawater) vs the use of a commercial Red Sea salt which mimics the properties of seawater. This initial trial was set up in large plastic containers.Files labelled as 'Trial_3_Mesocosm_Day_#': Images of the pilot mesocosm setup containing sediment, mussels, and brown seaweed in one system, and using natural seawater. The container has a 22L capacity, is solid glass, reducing the risk of plastic contamination. The 'Day' indicate the day of the mesocosm on which the photograph was taken (Day 000, Day 007, Day 014, Day 021), and '#' denotes the number of photographs that were taken.<br>

环境研究领域的科研人员常面临难以评估人工制品对环境影响的困境，究其根源在于，开展原位（in situ）相关实验有违伦理准则——例如，研究者无法向海洋环境中投放石油，以测定其对海洋生物及整体海洋环境的影响。为此，科研人员只能转而在实验室中模拟自然环境。但该研究路径存在核心挑战：如何精准模拟海水？是直接使用天然海水，还是采用人工配方海水？系统内的溶氧量是否充足？是否需要定期更换水体以维持健康的实验环境？诸如此类的问题均亟待解决。此类实验系统（中型生态箱，mesocosms）的搭建需在优化实验条件的同时开展日常监测。本数据集提供了三组用于优化中型生态箱实验条件的对照试验图像：1. "Experimental_Trials_1_and_2_Pictures"：为Adobe PDF文档，内含搭载贻贝与沉积物的中型生态箱搭建场景图像，用于对比原位海水（site water）与商用红海海盐（Red Sea salt）模拟海水属性的实验效果。该初始试验采用大型塑料容器搭建。2. 标注为"Trial_3_Mesocosm_Day_#"的文件组：包含中型生态箱试点搭建的图像，该系统同时包含沉积物、贻贝与褐藻，且采用天然海水。实验容器容量为22升，采用实心玻璃材质，可降低塑料污染风险。文件名中的"Day"代表拍摄照片当日的中型生态箱培养天数（涵盖第000天、第007天、第014天、第021天），"#"则代表当日拍摄的照片总数量。