Collaborative Research: Deployment of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy System from ROV Jason

该项目支持使用遥控潜水器Jason作为支持平台，在海底热液喷口测试部署一个完整的激光诱导击穿光谱系统。Jason用于使用三自由度机械平台对准和定向LIBS系统，并且还提供与光谱仪的高数据速率双向通信。测试将以两个与热液喷口高度相关的科学用例为基础，不针对具体地点）意义：研究喷口流体的近临界行为，了解潮汐周期中的化学变化。经验证后，将向热液喷口科学界提供LIBS系统，LIBS利用聚焦到直径10厘米的光束的激光，一旦超过材料的击穿阈值，就会产生等离子体。一个门控光谱仪覆盖近红外到紫外线范围被用来捕捉等离子体光谱，因此元素组成。LIB在固体、液体、气体和气溶胶上运行，并且已被证明在深海压力条件下运行。一个实时的，非侵入性的，同时多元素的化学传感能力，如LIBS，不需要样品制备将是一个显着的进步，目前的海洋技术。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This project supports the test deployment of a completed laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system at seafloor hydrothermal vents using the remotely operated vehicle Jason as the support platform. Jason serves to align and orient the LIBS system using a three degree-of-freedom mechanical platform, and also provides high data rate bidirectional communication with the spectrometer. The testing will be based on two scientific use cases that are highly relevant to hydrothermal vents in a generic (i.e., not site specific) sense: the study of near-critical behavior of vent fluids and understanding chemical variability over a tidal cycle. Upon validation, the LIBS system will be made available to the hydrothermal vent science community.LIBS utilizes a laser focused to a beam 10 cm in diameter that creates a plasma once the breakdown threshold of the material is exceeded. A gated spectrometer covering the near infrared to ultraviolet range is used to capture the plasma spectrum and hence the elemental composition. LIB operates on solids, liquids, gases and aerosols, and has been shown to operate under deep ocean pressure conditions. A real-time, non-invasive, simultaneously multi-elemental chemical sensing capability such as LIBS that does not require sample preparation would be a significant advance over current oceanographic technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.