Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Micro-Oxygen Electrodes

Using a unisense micro-oxygen electrode and micro-profiling system it is possible to measure oxygen across the sediment water interface and into the sediment. This is particularly important when looking at sediment chemistry as many chemical species are distributed according to the oxygen concentration in the sediment.

The sensors are all Clark-type sensors and are based on diffusion of oxygen through a silicone membrane to an oxygen reducing cathode which is polarized against an internal Ag/AgCl anode. The flow of electrons from the anode to the oxygen reducing cathode reflects linearly the oxygen partial pressure around the sensor tip and is in the pA range. The current is measured by a high quality picoammeter.

If you are interested in analysing samples using the laser ablation system, contact Fay Couceiro - fay.couceiro@port.ac.uk