The PIs have requested a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) to develop an inexpensive nitrate sensor array. This proposal requests funds to fabricate and test a new transducer for nitrate sampling that could be incorporated into the successful BOA design or work as part of an autonomous instrument. The PIs will use the enzyme, nitrate reductase, encapsulated within a sol-gel matrix as a nitrate specific and robust optical sensor for dissolved nutrients. The use of this enzyme for nutrient sensing has been proven in the laboratory and the optoelectronics required to couple this biosensor technology to the proven BOA design will produce a robust sensor of great utility. The sol-gel sensor can work in a broad range of pH, has nMol sensitivity, is impervious to saltwater interferents, resists leaching and should be fabricated at a fraction of the cost of commercially available autonomous instruments. They will fabricate a nitrate sensor for testing as an oceanographic instrument. Data from the device will be compared to a commercially available nitrate sensor moored in tandem along with water samples processed for nitrate content by the SIO analytical facility.
Broader Impacts
There is a need for low-cost, precision instruments in both terrestrial and marine field science. In order to synchronously sample environmental factors like nutrients, temperature, pressure, or conductivity on spatial scales of meters to hundreds of meters requires hundreds of sensors which is both prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult with the current technology available to most researchers. The design of the sensors and the data generated by BOA will be shared with other researchers through publication in the appropriate literature and will be available for use by other research teams. The array fabrication and testing facility will include the participation of undergraduate interns from UCSD and the SIO summer research fellowship program that provides hands on experience in oceanography to students from around the country. Stokes and Deane also work closely with local high school educators to mentor young students in marine science projects.
