Mid-infrared evanescent wave sensors - a novel approach for subsea monitoring

Abstract

The sustained health of the marine ecosystems can be seen as a research task of substantial importance, since increasing pollution of the oceans poses a serious threat to the global water resources. Hence, understanding of the physical, chemical and biological parameters determining the condition of the oceans demands persistent monitoring of the aquatic environment. This requires the development of advanced screening instrumentation capable of continuous in situ and real-time monitoring of hazardous pollutants. Remotely operated optical sensor systems able to withstand harsh measurement conditions represent a promising alternative to conventional methods involving extensive sampling procedures. Thus, interest in emerging novel sensor techniques has substantially increased during the last decade.