February 2022

S Curved Time of Flight Chamber

S-Curve Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer

US Patents 9,761,431 and 10,438,788 – Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Patent Licenses Available Time-of‐flight mass spectrometers are commonly used in analytical chemistry and many other applications. They contain a region where ions travel toward a detector. NOAA scientists have developed a new geometry that has improved performance over existing designs. The new innovation is to use two successive sectors, with the second one reversed, in a geometry resembling an “s”. The result is that the output ion beam is parallel to the input ion beam and that the entire geometry folds into a very compact volume. A second benefit to the design is that certain higher-order aberrations cancel when the ion beam makes two identical but opposed turns (e.g. a right-hand turn followed by a left-hand turn). NOAA is seeking qualified licensees to manufacture and sell this patented device.  Interested companies should contact the NOAA TPO at noaa.t2@noaa.gov for more information.  Shaped Time of Flight Chamber. Machined prototype. Credit: NOAA

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Four Channel Cavity Ringdown NOy Detector

The instrument has lower power, size, weight, and vacuum requirements than a chemiluminescence-based instrument while approaching its sensitivity, precision and time response. In the NOy CRDS instrument of the present invention, NOy and its components are converted into NO2 by thermal decomposition (TD) in a fused silica inlet (henceforth referred to as quartz, following convention), followed by the addition of ozone to convert NO to NO2. NO2 is then measured using a cavity ring-down spectroscopy instrument, utilizing a 405 nm laser. The device may comprise four parallel channels, each driven by the same laser, to measure NO, NO2, NOy and O3, respectively, such that overall NOy may be measured, as well as its components NO, NO2, as well as ozone (O3).

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sub-surface automated dual water sampler (SAS)

Sub-Surface Automated Dual Water Sampler (SAS)

Sub-Surface Automated Dual Water Sampler (SAS)Designed by researchers at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the University of Miami to help scientists study water chemistry on shallow reef habitats. Explore the SAS website, use it to guide you in building and using your own water samplers, embrace the maker movement, and improve on our design. If you are a teacher, there are free lesson plans to download that include labs and activities related to science, technology, and engineering.  Check out the NOAA SAS website and please use the SAS to learn about and explore our oceans!

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Open Source Temperature Sensors for Coral Reefs

Opuhala Sea Temperature Sensor

Opuhala was the ancient Hawaiian goddess of corals and spiny creatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Health & Monitoring Program has chosen this name to represent the project to study the influence of fluctuating sea temperatures on the growth and health of corals around the world, and also to compare the in situ data with satellite-measured data in an effort to improve satellite algorithms. Three different types of coral reefs: fringing, barrier, and atolls will be monitored at 5m, 10m and 15m depths, where appropriate. The sea temperature sensor developed for the Opuhala project has been developed with low cost in mind because of the diversity of sites that will measure sea temperature in this global project.  Learn more about the Opuhala Project. Download Specifications and Software to make your own sensor.

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