Title :
A compact, in-situ, spectrophotometric sensor for aqueous environments: design and applications
Author :
Kaltenbacher, Eric ; Steimle, Eric T. ; Byrne, Raymond H.
Author_Institution :
Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Abstract :
A compact, portable and sensitive instrument has been designed and built for in-situ spectrophotometric analyses on aqueous solutions. This sensor, known as the spectral elemental analysis system (SEAS), has been successfully used for nutrient and pH measurements on both autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and on moored platforms. The key element of SEAS is a liquid-core waveguide made of Teflon AF-2400 that permits long optical path lengths (several meters) in a very small volume (~40 cm3). Using SEAS, sub-nanomolar detection limits have been achieved for a wide variety of analyses. A unique feature of SEAS is the minimal reconfiguration required to perform fluorimetric analyses. Characteristics of the SEAS instrument are described, including laboratory and field measurements
Keywords :
chemical sensors; oceanographic equipment; pH measurement; spectral analysis; spectrophotometers; aqueous solutions; fluorimetric analysis; liquid-core waveguide; nutrients; pH measurements; spectral elemental analysis system; spectrophotometric sensor; subnanomolar detection; Instruments; Laboratories; Liquid waveguides; Optical sensors; Optical waveguides; Performance analysis; Sea measurements; Sensor systems; Spectral analysis; Underwater vehicles;
Conference_Titel :
Underwater Technology, 2000. UT 00. Proceedings of the 2000 International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Tokyo
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6378-7
DOI :
10.1109/UT.2000.852513
