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Deep-sea laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and its application to hydrothermal mineral surveys in the Okinawa Trough

Deep-sea laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and its application to hydrothermal mineral surveys in the Okinawa Trough
Deep-sea laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and its application to hydrothermal mineral surveys in the Okinawa Trough
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of atomic emission spectroscopy that uses a focused laser-pulse to create a plasma of excited material that can be used to determine the multi-elemental composition of targets in situ. In this work, the authors describe the development of a 3000m depth rated LIBS instrument and its deployments from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at depths of more than 1000m. Exemplary measurements of the multi-element composition of both seawater and mineral deposits made at an active hydrothermal vent field in the Okinawa trough will be presented and methods developed to process the measurements made by the instrument will be discussed. This is the first application of LIBS to oceanographic studies and the technique is currently one of the few methods available to perform in situ multi-element analysis underwater at oceanic pressures. Through integration with platforms such as underwater vehicles, drilling systems and subsea observatories, it is hoped that this technology can contribute to more efficient scientific surveys of the deep-sea environment.
4805 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling, OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICALDE: 4894 Instruments, sensors, and techniques, OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICALDE: 4262 Ocean observing systems, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4294 Instruments and techniques, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL
Thornton, Blair
8293beb5-c083-47e3-b5f0-d9c3cee14be9
Takahashi, Tomoko
937057f6-8e83-4a7f-b11f-b549c94afdf6
Sato, Takumi
2a177bf0-bfcd-404c-9a63-0dfb7c798a02
Sakka, Tetsuo
0b65b678-002f-4a00-933b-ffc0a974f46a
Ohki, Toshihiko
fd374af3-c5dc-46ba-9e63-295fa2ec225d
Ohki, Koichi
9ab2be8f-8868-431e-b15f-92ada71fa9eb
Thornton, Blair
8293beb5-c083-47e3-b5f0-d9c3cee14be9
Takahashi, Tomoko
937057f6-8e83-4a7f-b11f-b549c94afdf6
Sato, Takumi
2a177bf0-bfcd-404c-9a63-0dfb7c798a02
Sakka, Tetsuo
0b65b678-002f-4a00-933b-ffc0a974f46a
Ohki, Toshihiko
fd374af3-c5dc-46ba-9e63-295fa2ec225d
Ohki, Koichi
9ab2be8f-8868-431e-b15f-92ada71fa9eb

Thornton, Blair, Takahashi, Tomoko, Sato, Takumi, Sakka, Tetsuo, Ohki, Toshihiko and Ohki, Koichi (2016) Deep-sea laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and its application to hydrothermal mineral surveys in the Okinawa Trough. 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans. 21 - 26 Feb 2016.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

Abstract

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of atomic emission spectroscopy that uses a focused laser-pulse to create a plasma of excited material that can be used to determine the multi-elemental composition of targets in situ. In this work, the authors describe the development of a 3000m depth rated LIBS instrument and its deployments from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at depths of more than 1000m. Exemplary measurements of the multi-element composition of both seawater and mineral deposits made at an active hydrothermal vent field in the Okinawa trough will be presented and methods developed to process the measurements made by the instrument will be discussed. This is the first application of LIBS to oceanographic studies and the technique is currently one of the few methods available to perform in situ multi-element analysis underwater at oceanic pressures. Through integration with platforms such as underwater vehicles, drilling systems and subsea observatories, it is hoped that this technology can contribute to more efficient scientific surveys of the deep-sea environment.

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More information

Published date: February 2016
Venue - Dates: 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, 2016-02-21 - 2016-02-26
Keywords: 4805 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling, OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICALDE: 4894 Instruments, sensors, and techniques, OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICALDE: 4262 Ocean observing systems, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4294 Instruments and techniques, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 415769
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415769
PURE UUID: de12f602-933c-4e04-9eaa-efb7ae522e7d

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Date deposited: 23 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 21:30

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Contributors

Author: Blair Thornton
Author: Tomoko Takahashi
Author: Takumi Sato
Author: Tetsuo Sakka
Author: Toshihiko Ohki
Author: Koichi Ohki

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