Sunburst Sensors Selected to Provide Instruments for OOI Water Measurements
(Click to enlarge) : Sunburst Sensor’s Submersible Autonomous Moored Instrument will collect measurements for OOI. (Credit: Photo provided by J. Newton, Sunburst Sensors, LLC)
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, with funding from the National Science Foundation, has selected Sunburst Sensors, LLC, of Missoula, Montana, to provide pH (PHSEN) and Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide in Water Instruments (PC02W) for the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).
Under the $2.5 million contract, Sunburst will provide up to 77 PHSEN and 35 PC02W instruments.
Sunburst Sensors designs and manufactures instruments that measure inorganic carbon parameters pC02, pH and total alkalinity. Sunburst’s Submersible Autonomous Moored Instrument (SAMI) measures and logs levels of dissolved chemicals in sea and fresh water.
The SAMI-pH and SAMI-CO2 both use the indicator method for measurement of pH in oceanic waters. Measurement of pH and the amount of dissolved CO2 in seawater are critical to the determination of carbon flux between the ocean and atmosphere, and understanding ecological and climatological effects of ocean acidification.
The SAMI-CO2 design dimensions are 62 cm long x 15 cm diameter. Weight in air is 11.6 kg and weight in seawater is 1.1 kg. The SAMI consists of pressure housing, reagent housing, pump/valve housing and the sampling area.
The SAMI-pH design dimensions are 62 cm long x 15 cm diameter. The lower housing contains the pH indicators, tris CRM and pump housing. The upper chamber contains the batteries and electronics. The sensor flow cell is located between the two housings.
The OOI, a project funded by the NSF, is planned as a networked infrastructure of science-driven sensor systems to measure the physical, chemical, geological and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor. As a fully integrated system, OOI will collect and disseminate data on coastal, regional and global scales. Through a unique cyberinfrastructure, OOI will make ocean observing data available to anyone with an internet connection. Greater knowledge of the ocean’s interrelated systems is vital for increased understanding of their effects on biodiversity, climate change, ocean and coastal ecosystems, environmental health and climate.
About the Consortium for Ocean Leadership
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that represents 99 of the leading public and private ocean research and education institutions, aquaria and industry with the mission to advance research, education and sound ocean policy. The organization also manages ocean research and education programs in areas of scientific ocean drilling, ocean observing, ocean exploration, and ocean partnerships.
For more information on the OOI please visit the OOI Website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information or interviews, contact:
Kerry G. Beck
Director of Communications, OOI
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Office: (202) 787-1685
kbeck@oceanleadership.org