Collaborative Research: Development of a Sensor Array for In-situ Real-time Measurement of Deep Ocean and Hydrothermal Vent Chemistry

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

The study of dynamic biogeochemical processes in the ocean, especially in the deep ocean or near hydrothermal vents, is a daunting challenge and requires the ability to monitor a variety of chemical species in-situ in real time under extreme conditions. Understanding these dynamic processes is critical for our ability to predict and/or mitigate the long term effects of natural and human impacts on the oceans. The propose to develop and demonstrate a prototype ion selective electrode (ISE) sensor array capable of providing simultaneous in-situ real-time measurements of a variety of ionic chemical species at extreme depths and near vent temperatures in the ocean. The proposed sensor array will be based on the ISE sensor array that was designed, built, tested, and successfully used on the surface of Mars as part of the 2007 Phoenix Mars Mission, to analyze for ionic species in an aqueous solution containing a soil sample The longer term objective of this initial effort is to enable follow-on research that, with improved detection limits and selectivity, will provide the ocean sciences community with a new tool for in-situ real-time mapping of a broad range of chemical species in seawater. The resulting sensor array device will also be of use to researchers in a variety of related disciplines for studies or monitoring of other bodies of water such as lakes, estuaries, ground water, drinking water, and rivers. Broader Impacts: The development of an innovative research tool to enable in-situ temporal and spatial monitoring of the chemical properties of oceanic waters represents an enormous contribution to the fields of environmental and analytical chemistry. Clearly, this project if successful will enable a charting of ocean circulation, measurements of carbon dioxide levels in the ocean, and studies of the impacts of these on climate change research. The outreach program will engage teachers and students in summer field studies to monitor waters at the mouth of the Charles River in Boston Bay and/or the Delaware Estuary, and the anoxic Delaware Inland Bays. These will provide enormous intangible, yet demonstrable outcomes and impacts of the research. Three graduate students are involved in this project. In addition, the project will provide opportunities for undergraduate student from a broad range of disciplines to participate in the design and development of in situ instrumentation. High-school students will also be involved, through the participation of classrooms to field tests and to a summer field trip, involving the graduate students supported by the project. Public outreach is also mentioned, through the realization of videos by classrooms.