SGER: Chemical Sensors for Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems

0084946 Holloway这个探索性研究（SGER）小赠款项目将开发和测试两种光纤化学传感器，用于监测海底热液系统环境和这些环境的实验室模拟器中的热液流体-海水混合物的化学性质。已知使用光纤作为往返于样品的光路的拉曼光谱法在定量测定水溶液中的各种有机和无机物质方面工作良好。此外，一种相对较新的技术，表面等离子体共振（SPR）光谱作为监测流体密度的简单手段具有很大的前景。这项工作将评估这些技术（拉曼和SPR光谱）中的每一种作为海底热液流体的短期和长期监测器的功效。如果证明这些装置可在热液条件下运行，则可用于载人或潜水，作为海底电缆观测站和实验室反应堆的节点。

0084946HollowayThis Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) project will develop and test two kinds of fiber optic chemical sensors for use in monitoring the chemistry of hydrothermal fluid -- seawater mixtures in seafloor hydrothermal system environments and in laboratory simulators of those environments. Raman spectroscopy using optical fibers as the light path to and from samples is known to work well to quantitatively determine a variety of organic and inorganic species in aqueous solution. In addition, a relatively new technique, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy holds great promise as a simple means of monitoring fluid densities. This work will evaluate the efficacy of each of these techniques (Raman and SPR spectroscopies) for use as short, and long-term monitors of seafloor hydrothermal fluids. If proven to operate under hydrothermal conditions, these devices could be used on manned or ROV dives, as nodes in cabled seafloor observatories and in laboratory reactors.