This award is to develop an electrochemical flow meter that will measure very slow velocities in seawater (i.e. between 5 cm/s to 0.01 mm/s). The flow meter would be used to measure diffuse upflow at hydrothermal systems and boreholes, and perhaps to detect down flow rates in hydrothermal systems. The basic principal used in this flow meter is to chemically mark a small packet of water and then detect the chemical anomaly as it flows past a sensor. The PI plans to sense dissolved chlorine generated at an anode during the electrolysis of seawater because chlorine can be detected at very low concentrations. A uniaxial flow meter will be constructed by placing the source electrode in the center of a tube with sensing electrodes at either end of the tube. The PI's propose to develop the sensor, conduct extensive laboratory testing, and then deploy the sensor for a short period of time at the Juan de Fuca ridge, in the Endeavor vent field and in a sealed borehole (Hole 1025C).
