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

该项目支持使用遥控运载器Jason作为支持平台，在海底热液喷口测试部署完整的激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)系统。Jason使用三自由度机械平台对准和定位LIBS系统，并提供与光谱仪的高数据速率双向通信。测试将基于两个与一般意义上的热液喷口高度相关的科学用例：研究喷口流体的近临界行为和了解潮汐周期中的化学变异性。经过验证后，LIBS系统将提供给热液喷口科学界使用。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。使用覆盖近红外到紫外线范围的选通光谱仪来捕获等离子体光谱，从而获得元素组成。LIB在固体、液体、气体和气溶胶上工作，并已被证明在深海压力条件下工作。实时、非侵入性、同时多元素的化学传感能力，如不需要样品制备的LIBS，将是对当前海洋技术的重大进步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.