TOMSK, Jul 3 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of the Faculty of Radiophysics of Tomsk State University (FR TSU), created a unique device for studying the ecological condition of the water areas, plan to test it in the Kara Sea in August, the employee of the TSU Laboratory for Radiophysical and Optical Methods of Environmental Research Alexey Olshukov reported RIA Tomsk
Earlier it was reported that FR TSU scientists developed a hardware and software complex which is able to estimate in real time the biomass of living organisms (plankton) and the ecological state of the investigated water area. In 2017, scientists explored Mediterranean Sea in Egypt using the device to give Egyptian colleagues recommendations on developing a program for marine ecosystems monitoring.
As Olshukov explained, the day before the scientists returned from Murmansk, where together with colleagues biologists tested the Tomsk instrument on a ship in the Kola Bay. According to him, Murmansk scientists usually analyze the ecological state of the water areas with the help of mollusks, and they were interested in new technologies. The TSU device has two modules – a holographic camera for plankton research and a microwave module for fixing of harmful impurities.
"In Murmansk, we registered a hologram and now we get information on the average speed, trajectory and species diversity of plankton – these factors allow us to assess the ecological state of the water area. In general, we tested our device, outlined plans, then, together with Murmansk colleagues, to go to the Kara Sea", – the scientist said.
According to him, while, presumably, the expedition is planned for August. He stressed that the hardware-software complex is universal – it's suitable both for work in the Far North and in the southern seas. In 2016 Tomsk residents already were in the Kara Sea, but then they took an imperfect prototype of the device. Today it is finished.
"At a
traditional method of assessing the state of the water area, a contact method
is used – using seine net plankton is caught, and then it's investigated under
a microscope. The uniqueness of our development is that we study plankton in a
natural environment without harming it. The instrument examines the volume up
to one liter with a resolution of 200 micrometers - is comparable with the
resolution of the microscope", – the scientist said, having specified that
there are analogues of the device in the world, but with a smaller volume.