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all in spectral multi-dimensionality. When the wavelength
is varied from deep UV to visible blue light, measuring the
colour distribution of the fluorescence in the process, it pro-
duces a spectral fingerprint characteristic of various sources
of FDOM – a technique known as Excitation-Emission Matrix
Spectroscopy or EEMS.Oldenburg University is home to a new
EEMS fluorometer – the first of its kind in Europe. Scientists
Course in Marine Sensor
Sensor technology is a cross-sector technologywithmany
applications in everyday life. In marine and environmen-
tal technology it is also an essential motor for scientific
findings and business applications. The University of
Oldenburg is therefore working with the Jade University
of Applied Sciences in Wilhelmshaven to develop the
research-oriented Masters programme Marine Sensors.
This is scheduled to be up and running by the Summer
semester 2014, and is aimed at students with a Bachelor‘s
degree in marine technology, environmental sciences or
comparable disciplines.Under the guidance of professors
from the University of Oldenburg and the Jade University
of Applied Sciences experts will be trained in the research,
optimization and application of sensor technology at
the Wilhelmshaven location. The proximity to research
institutions such as the ICBM-Terramare, DEWI and Sen-
ckenberg am Meer, as well as contacts with companies
and authorities in the region allow for research-oriented
learning in authentic contexts.
Meeresforscher Oliver Zielinski mit Versuchsanordnung,
die den Gelbstoff visualisiert.
Marine scientist Oliver Zielinski with a test arrangement
that visualises yellow substance.
can use it to produce spectral fingerprints at minute intervals.
Even with cutting edge technology at its disposition, for the
Marine Sensor Systems working group laboratory equipment
constitutes just an intermediate step on the path to its ultimate
objective of viable in situ measurement. This is also the case
for the DOMsense research project,whose aim is to apply the
results of complex long-term data laboratory tests – which
produce optimised combinations of excitation and detection
wavelengths – to develop a new type of multichannel UV flu-
orometer:essentially EEMS at second intervals, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Implemented in rivers, estuaries, bays and
coastal waters these instruments would make it possible to
analyse the degradation processes of bacteria and algae and
track input from rain and agricultural activities – an ideal tool
for protecting the marine environment and waters.
The range of potential applications for this technology by no
means ends there. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),
which occur naturally in coal and petroleum, also have cha-
racteristic signatures which can be imaged using the EEMS
fluorometer. The research project "New Optical Sensors for
the Detection of PAHs in Oil-Water Compounds" (AquaPAK)
at the ICBM, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF), therefore aims to detect the presence of
dissolved hydrocarbons in water – in particular when these
are introduced to the marine environment during cleaning
processes such as the separation of oil from bilge water on
ships. Other applications include monitoring of oil- and gas-
pumping facilities and warning systems for sensitive water
intake points, such as places where drinkingwater is produced
from seawater.These are fields of application which are of key
importance for the ecological balance of our planet.