SUBNOSE-1 - ELECTROCHEMICAL TRACKING OF ODOR PLUMES AT 900 M BENEATH THE OCEAN SURFACE

High-resolution (18.75 Hz) microscale (three, 200-mu-m average diameter sensors) measurements of the turbulent distribution of chemicals from an odor source initiated from a platform at 900 m beneath the ocean surface were studied from a deep-diving submersible, the Johnson Sea-Link. The recording sensors were attached to a movable mechanical arm on the submersible and signals from the chemical sensor were recorded using a specially designed battery-powered microcomputer-controlled instrument. The recordings showed that both rapid and slow time course chemical signals existed in the odor plume at distances of as much as 50 m from the chemical source. In addition, these studies support that this new technology can be successfully employed to study the dynamics of odor dispersal and/or nutrient chemical dynamics in a remote marine environment.