Development of Raman sensors for the determination of trace amounts in the ocean
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine Sciences. Degree projects at the Department of Marine Sciences are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Subject: Marine Chemistry
Level: Master (60 credits)
Supervisor: Katarina Abrahamsson
Project background
The research is funded by the Swedish Maritime Robotics Center (SMaRC), which was created to promote innovative research in the area of maritime robotics. SMaRC is funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF, as an Industrial Research Center. The research focus is on three target application areas: ocean production, using the oceans for food, energy and raw materials; safeguarding society, knowing what is happening on- and in our waters; and environmental monitoring including missions in unexplored polar marine environments.
We will develop technologies for increased autonomy and endurance of marine robots (typically denoted AUVs or ROVs) to reduce the reliance on ships and crews, and thereby drastically reduce costs of operation in all these areas.
Within SMaRC you will belong to a multidisciplinary research team collaborating with other master students, Post-Docs and Ph.D.’s from fields such as robotics, underwater communication, electrochemistry, marine ecology & biology and polar science.
Project description
In this project you will develop methodologies and strategies for autonomous measurements of organic pollutants in the ocean. The underlying need and challenge are that there are in principal no, or very few, sensors for such compounds that are present at relevant concentrations (nM – pM). A sensor with this capability will facilitate measurements on relevant time and spatial scales to understand biogeochemical processes in order to predict the fate of for example pollutants and chemical warfare agents.
The project will include the development and construction of chemical sensors attached to underwater robots based on Raman spectrometry. This analytical technique provides both structural information and measurements of concentrations. More specifically the work includes comparisons of weaknesses and strengths of four Raman spectrometers each with one specific laser wavelength ranging from UV to IR. In order to facilitate the interpretation of the data collected advanced machine learning techniques need to be applied.
Therefore, the suggested project will not only give knowledge of modern analytical technology but also chemometrics.
Contact
Katarina Abrahamsson
Tel: 0766-229051
Email: katarina.abrahamsson@gu.se