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Nature in Miniature

The Mesocosm Lab at WHOI is a unique facility that gives scientists the ability to set up realistic natural environments, but on a smaller scale. An underground system draws seawater from Martha’s Vineyard Sound into tanks that scientists can stock with plants, animals, and other items, such as those found in a salt marsh ecosystem, for example, to conduct experiments. The tanks replicate the natural environment in miniature while also allowing scientists to precisely measure changing conditions and to manipulate specific variables within the system in ways they couldn’t do in a real field location. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)