14 DAY TRIAL // A group of scientists from the National Oceanography Center and the University of Southampton Ocean and Earth Science, both in the United Kingdom, recently took a series of important steps towards the development of new microsensors for monitoring oceanic acidification.
Scientists have been trying to create durable measuring tools for some time now, but the environment in which these devices have to operate is very taxing and demanding. The new, cost-effective sensor circumvents this issue, opening the way for long-term ocean-monitoring studies.
The devices contain a series of microfluidic devices, which are capable of measuring pH levels in seawater. The team tested their new equipment aboard the RRS Discovery research vessel and published details of how they work in a recent issue of the scientific journal Anaytica Chimica Acta.
“The sensor uses a dye which changes colour with pH. The dye is added to the sample, then the color is measured using an LED light source and a device called a ‘spectrometer’,” says lead study author Dr. Victoire Rérolle, quoted by EurekAlert.