Environmental Monitoring

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Many organic contaminants in the air and in drinking water need to be detected at very low-level concentrations. Research published by the laboratory of Prashant V. Kamat, the John A. Zahm Professor of Science at the University of Notre Dame, could be beneficial in detecting those contaminants.
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Touted as possible first responders, insect cyborgs could be the research community's next big breakthrough. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have discovered that an insect's internal chemicals can be converted to electricity - potentially providing power to sensors and recording devices.
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The bq25504 from Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) is an integrated energy harvesting nanopower management solution for ultra low power applications. The boost converter is designed to efficiently acquire and manage the microwatts to miliwatts of power generated from a variety of DC sources like photovoltaic or thermal electric generators.
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The G2131-i Isotopic Carbon Analyzer from Picarro (Santa Clara, CA) will enable a range of new scientific applications to better resolve CO₂ dynamics in the atmosphere, plant respiration, and the ocean. The carbon isotope analyzer is designed for deployment in the harshest environments.
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Lisa Collins, an environmental studies lecturer at the University of Southern California, spent four years collecting samples from floating sediment traps in the San Pedro Basin off the Los Angeles coast, giving scientists a peek at how much carbon is locked up in the ocean and where it comes from.
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An ambient temperature oxygen microsensor, based on a Nafion polymer electrolyte, has been developed. A challenge in the operation of Nafion-based sensor systems is that the conductivity of Nafion film depends on the humidity in the film. Nafion film loses conductivity when the moisture content in the film is too low, which can affect sensor operation.
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The Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) provides computational support for the generic work processes found in many regional-scale ecosystem modeling applications. Decision support tools helps resource managers plan invasive species protection, monitoring, and control strategies for the lands they manage.
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A spectroelectrochemical instrument has been developed for measuring the total organic carbon (TOC) content of an aqueous solution. Measurements of TOC are frequently performed in environmental, clinical, and industrial settings. Until now, techniques for performing such measurements have included, variously, the use of hazardous reagents, ultraviolet light, or ovens, to promote reactions in which the carbon contents are oxidized.
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An engineering team at Oregon State University has invented a new type of radiation detection and measurement device that will be useful for cleanup of sites with radioactive contamination - making the process faster, more accurate, and less expensive.
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A mathematical transform, called the Rosette Transform, together with a new method, called the Dense Sampling Method, have been developed. The Rosette Transform is invented to apply to both the mean part and the fluctuating part of a targeted radar signature using the Dense Sampling Method to construct the data in a high-resolution grid at 1-km posting for wind measurements over water surfaces such as oceans or lakes.
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A team led by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre of Southampton, UK have measured the air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide in the open ocean at the highest wind speed to date. Their findings are important for understanding how interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere influence climate.
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With a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, researchers from North Carolina State University are developing a cost-effective electronic monitoring system that will advance understanding of critical coastal ecosystems by allowing users to track water-quality data from these waters in real time.
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A technique originally applied to monitor the flow of contaminants into shallow groundwater supplies has been repurposed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers to monitor carbon dioxide pumped deep underground for storage.
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A low-noise current controller developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was recently licensed to Wavelength Electronics Inc. (Bozeman, MT). The device delivers stable and reliable power to the lasers used in gas sensors, for use in analyzing trace atmospheric gases.
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A low-cost wildfire detection and monitoring system using mobile communications technology is being developed by researchers at University of Adelaide's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
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Engineers at the University of Michigan led the development of a new biosensor - a strip of paper infused with carbon nanotubes - that can quickly and inexpensively detect a toxin produced by algae in drinking water.
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Jessica Lundquist - a University of Washington assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering - uses dime-sized temperature sensors, which were first developed for the refrigerated food industry, and tennis balls to study mountain precipitation.
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Forest-monitoring technology developed by scientists at Carnegie Institute’s Department of Global Ecology combines free satellite imagery and powerful analytical methods into an easy-to-use, desktop software package called CLASlite. The team announced its new web site for CLASlite users today, at the Copenhagen climate meetings.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has introduced another method for detecting airborne elemental mercury. When films made of certain polymer/carbon composites are exposed to air containing mercury vapor, their electrical resistances decrease by measurable amounts. The films can be operated and regenerated at mild temperatures.
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Michigan State University researchers are developing robots that use advanced materials to swim like fish and gather precise data on aquatic conditions. The robotic fish will carry sensors recording things like temperature, dissolved oxygen, pollutants, and harmful algae.
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New Tel Aviv University technology combines sophisticated sensors in orbit with sensors on the ground and in the air to create a “Hyperspectral Remote Sensor” (HRS). HRS can give advance warnings about water contamination after a forest fire, or swiftly alert authorities of a pollution spill.
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A new Tel Aviv University invention - a real-time "Optical Soil Dipstick" (OSD) - provides a new diagnostic tool for assessing the health of the planet. Professor Eyal Ben-Dor, of TAU's Department of Geography, says his soil dipstick will help scientists, urban planners, and farmers understand the changing health of the soil.
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Last year, MIT researchers found that plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts when one electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil. A University of Washington team followed up on this research, and has run a custom circuit entirely off tree power.
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have refined a method for detecting contaminants in municipal water supplies. Their work shows that the technology, which uses algae, has broader applications than expected.
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NIST has issued three new certified reference materials for soil. Intended for use as controls in testing laboratories, the new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) will aid in determining soil quality, detecting soil contamination, and monitoring cleanup efforts from accidental spills or atmospheric deposition.
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