Volume 9, Number 5 • September/October 2001 • Technology Transfer

System Analyzes Water Samples at Sea

NASA chief scientist and biological oceanographer Dr. Richard Miller of the Earth Science Applications Directorate at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi needed a more efficient method of analyzing water samples at sea. The development of Ultrapath™ (an optical sample cell system with user-selectable path lengths), by World Precision Instruments Inc. (WPI), appears to suit his needs.

Miller conducts research aboard ships in ocean systems around the globe to support NASA’s satellite programs. Water samples are obtained to verify the observations from space, particularly the concentration of Chlorophyll A, a molecule that absorbs light and is found in all plants. Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) that is generally associated with land runoff is an important component that controls ocean color in coastal waters. The presence of CDOM complicates the use of color satellite sensors. Determining how CDOM absorbs light helps us evaluate the accuracy of products developed from satellite imagery, Miller explained.

“Until now, the standard procedure for processing seawater samples was to freeze them and then ship them to port for spectral analyses,” Miller explained. “The procedure was time-consuming and costly. I had an idea there should be a better way.”

Stennis Space Center’s Office of Technology Transfer teamed Miller with WPI, a Florida-based, international manufacturer of laboratory equipment.

“The combination of significant commercial potential and government need made the arrangement of a cost- and risk-sharing agreement a natural for this project. This dual-use approach for government investment in technology development ensures that commercialization happens,” said Kirk Sharp, manager of the Office of Technology Transfer.

Working together under a cooperative agreement, the company has developed and is now marketing the Ultrapath.

“Dr. Miller’s design requirements over the last two years of development defined the need for a rugged instrument system to be used in the field that was capable of high-sensitivity measurements across widely divergent sample types,” Mathias Belz, senior scientist for WPI, said. “It was a challenge to configure the solution.”

Miller said the flexibility of the system solves a critical problem for oceanographers and opens the doors to numerous other applications. Q

For more information, contact Paul Foerman at Stennis Space Center, 228/688-1880 or paul.foerman@ssc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

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