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UMaine
scientist uses NASA grant to measure plankton
University of Maine
November 5, 2002
As ARGO, an international program to improve ocean current
monitoring, gets underway, scientists are developing
new technologies to collect information about marine
biology as well.
With
a $125,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Emmanuel Boss, assistant professor in
at the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences,
and colleagues at the University of Washington and Wetlabs,
Inc. of Philomath, Oregon, are testing a new generation
of optical sensors to measure phytoplankton biomass
and particulate concentration.
The
major objective is to demonstrate to the physical oceanographic
community that measurements of critical interest to
understanding the global carbon cycle can be made without
compromising the quality of the physical measurements
or the ARGO mission requirements.
A
total of 566 operating ARGO floats are in place around
the globe. Plans call for deployment of the new sensors
on ARGO floats in the North Pacific next spring.
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