The PIs request funding to develop, groundtruth, and deploy an in-situ sensor for continuous seawater DIC measurements on mobile observing platforms. The system will be capable of continuous, submersible measurements in-situ up to a depth of 3000m in the ocean. It will be designed and built primarily for deployment on AUVs and CTD-Rosette packages where fast response sensors are preferred. Because of the micro-flow characteristic, the sensor will have low power and reagent consumption tailored to the size and power requirements for underwater vehicles. The proposed sensor will be capable of measuring DIC accurately with high-resolution on mobile platforms. With nominal calibrations and testing, the new sensor will also be able to make continuous measurements of seawater pCO2 using a similar method.
Broader Impacts:
The proposed work will promote teaching through the supervision of one female doctoral student and the training of at least one summer student through an educational program targeted for underrepresented groups in science. The development of a fast-response in-situ DIC sensor is certainly of interest for a broader community, and there is potentially a large enough market for the commercialization of this sensor. This instrumentation has the potential to provide high-resolution total CO2 measurements for several ocean research fields, ranging from ocean acidification to climate change. The sensor is proposed to be deployed in Buzzard Bay, MA in cooperation with the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The technology will be presented through the "Science Made Public" summer series.
