Instrument

Company/Institution

Flow Cytobot

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

What the DGA Can Do:

1.  

   Measure concentrations of dissolved N2, O2, and Ar in < 5ml environmental water samples in < 2 minutes with no sample preparation.

    

2. Measure N2/Ar ratios at a precision of <0.05%.

    

3. Measure gases enriched with stable isotopes (e.g. 15N and 18O)

    

4. Measure other dissolved gases (e.g. CH4 and CO2) and volatile organic compounds following simple modifications.

    

 Applications include measurement of denitrification and system metabolism aquatic and marine systems.

Bay Instruments www.bayinstruments.com

Nutrients in coastal waters are affected by various forces including rain events, tides, agricultural activities, and waste water releases that can cause concentrations to change substantially on hourly time scales.  Our understanding of the role of nutrients in the formation and lifecycle of HABs has been limited by our inability to measure nutrient concentrations frequently enough to resolve these rapid changes and to relate them to transitions from non-harmful phytoplankton populations to HABs.  Recent advances in autonomous nutrient monitoring now allow scientist to deploy instruments that measure multiple nutrients on hourly time scales and that can telemeter the data back to laboratories for real time processing and internet display (http://www.hpl.umces.ecu/aims).  

To meet a rising demand for autonomous nutrient monitors, companies such as EnviroTech LLC (http://www.envirotechinstruments.com), YSI Inc. (http://www.ysi.com), Shimadzu Corp. (http://www1.shimadzu.com/products/lab/tocanaly/tn4110.html) and Systea (http://www.systea.it/) now offer a variety these sensors, and Green Eyes LLC (http://www.greeneyesobserving.com) offers complete integrated nutrient monitoring systems that can display nutrient and water quality data on the internet in real time.