US 8,412,469 B1Granted

Environmental monitoring of microbe metabolic transformation

AssigneeThe United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)

InventorsBrad Bebout, Erich Fleming, Matthew Piccini, Christopher Beasley, Leslie Bebout

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Abstract

Mobile system and method for monitoring environmental parameters involved in growth or metabolic transformation of algae in a liquid. Each of one or more mobile apparati, suspended or partly or wholly submerged in the liquid, includes at least first and second environmental sensors that sense and transmit distinct first and second environmental, growth or transformation parameter values, such as liquid temperature, temperature of gas adjacent to and above the exposed surface, liquid pH, liquid salinity, liquid turbidity, O2 dissolved in the liquid, CO2 contained in the liquid, oxidization and reduction potential of the liquid, nutrient concentrations in the liquid, nitrate concentration in the liquid, ammonium concentration in the liquid, bicarbonate concentration in the liquid, phosphate concentration in the liquid, light intensity at the liquid surface, electrical conductivity of the liquid, and a parameter α(alga) associated with growth stage of the alga, using PAM fluorometry or other suitable parameter measurements.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A method of monitoring an environment for growth or transformation of algae, the method comprising:

providing at least one alga, immersed in, or adjacent to a surface of, a liquid;
providing a mobile system that floats on and is submersible in the liquid to a controllable depth, the mobile mechanism comprising at least first and second environmental sensors that sense distinct first and second environmental parameter values, pv(t;1) and pv(t;2), respectively, where at least one of the first and second environmental sensors senses at least one of liquid temperature at a selected depth within the liquid, temperature of gas adjacent to and above the liquid, liquid pH, liquid salinity, liquid turbidity, O2 dissolved in the liquid, CO2 concentration in the liquid, oxidization and reduction potential of the liquid, nitrate concentration in the liquid, ammonium concentration in the liquid, bicarbonate concentration in the liquid, phosphate concentration in the liquid, light intensity where light enters the liquid, electrical conductivity of the liquid, and an alga parameter that is a measure of growth stage of the alga, and another of the at least two environmental sensors senses light intensity at a selected depth in the liquid;
sensing the first environmental parameter value pv(t;1) at spaced apart first and third sensing times, t=t1 and t=t3;
sensing the second environmental parameter value pv(t;2) at a second sensing time, t=t2, that is intermediate between the first and third sensing times;
and
transmitting the environmental parameter values, pv(t=t1;1) and pv(t=t3;1), sensed at the first and third sensing times, and the environmental parameter value pv(t=t2;2), sensed at the second sensing time, to a data receiver.

3 more elements

A method of monitoring an environment for growth or transformation of algae, the method comprising:

providing at least one alga immersed in, or adjacent to a surface of, a liquid;
providing N mobile systems (N≧2), numbered n=1, . . . , N, where each mobile system floats and/or is submersible in the liquid to a controllable depth, and each mobile system, number n, comprises at least first and second environmental sensors that sense distinct at least first and second environmental parameter values, pv(t;1) and pv(t;2), respectively, in common, where at least one of the first and second environmental sensors senses at least one of liquid temperature, temperature of gas in the liquid, liquid pH, liquid salinity, liquid turbidity, O2 dissolved in the liquid, CO2 contained in the liquid, oxidization and reduction potential of the liquid, nitrate concentration in the liquid, ammonium concentration in the liquid, bicarbonate concentration in the liquid, phosphate concentration in the liquid, light intensity where light enters the liquid, electrical conductivity of the liquid, and an alga parameter that is a measure of growth stage of the alga, and another of the at least two environmental sensors senses light intensity at a selected depth in the liquid;
sensing the first parameter value pv(t;1;n) at spaced apart first and third sensing times, t=t1 and t=t3, for each of the N mobile systems to provide sensed first parameter values, pv(t1;1;n) and pv(t3;2;n) for the mobile system number n;
sensing the second parameter value pv(t;2;n) at a second sensing time, t=t2, which is intermediate between the first and third sensing times, to provide a sensed second parameter value pv(t2;2;n) for the mobile system number n;
transmitting the values, pv(t1;1;n) and pv(t2;2;n), to a data receiver that is spaced apart from at least one of the N mobile systems.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.