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

该项目支持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，使用远程操作车辆Jason作为支持平台。Jason使用三自由度机械平台对LIBS系统进行校准和定向，并提供与光谱仪的高数据速率双向通信。测试将基于两个科学用例，这两个用例在一般意义上（即不是特定地点）与热液喷口高度相关：研究喷口流体的近临界行为和了解潮汐循环中的化学变化。在验证后，LIBS系统将提供给热液喷口科学界。LIBS利用激光聚焦到直径10厘米的光束上，一旦超过材料的击穿阈值，就会产生等离子体。覆盖近红外到紫外范围的门控光谱仪用于捕获等离子体光谱，从而捕获元素组成。LIBS可以在固体、液体、气体和气溶胶中工作，并且已经证明可以在深海压力条件下工作。实时、无创、同时多元素化学传感能力，如LIBS，不需要样品制备，将是当前海洋学技术的重大进步。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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. LIBS 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.