Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education

Ocean Acidification (OA) is negatively affecting the physiological processes of marine organisms, altering biogeochemical cycles, and changing chemical equilibria throughout the world’s oceans. It is difficult to measure pH broadly, in large part because accurate pH measurement technology...

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Main Authors: Pardis, William, Grabb, Kalina C., DeGrandpre, Michael D., Spaulding, Reggie, Beck, James, Pfeifer, Jonathan A., Long, David M.
Other Authors: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Format: Article
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145994
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author Pardis, William
Grabb, Kalina C.
DeGrandpre, Michael D.
Spaulding, Reggie
Beck, James
Pfeifer, Jonathan A.
Long, David M.
author2 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
author_facet Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Pardis, William
Grabb, Kalina C.
DeGrandpre, Michael D.
Spaulding, Reggie
Beck, James
Pfeifer, Jonathan A.
Long, David M.
author_sort Pardis, William
collection MIT
description Ocean Acidification (OA) is negatively affecting the physiological processes of marine organisms, altering biogeochemical cycles, and changing chemical equilibria throughout the world’s oceans. It is difficult to measure pH broadly, in large part because accurate pH measurement technology is expensive, bulky, and requires technical training. Here, we present the development and evaluation of a hand-held, affordable, field-durable, and easy-to-use pH instrument, named the pHyter, which is controlled through a smartphone app. We determine the accuracy of pH measurements using the pHyter by comparison with benchtop spectrophotometric seawater pH measurements, measurement of a certified pH standard, and comparison with a proven in situ instrument, the iSAMI-pH. These results show a pHyter pH measurement accuracy of ±0.046 pH or better, which is on par with interlaboratory seawater pH measurement comparison experiments. We also demonstrate the pHyter’s ability to conduct both temporal and spatial studies of coastal ecosystems by presenting data from a coral reef and a bay, in which the pHyter was used from a kayak. These studies showcase the instrument’s portability, applicability, and potential to be used for community science, STEM education, and outreach, with the goal of empowering people around the world to measure pH in their own backyards.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1459942023-06-28T20:32:58Z Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education Pardis, William Grabb, Kalina C. DeGrandpre, Michael D. Spaulding, Reggie Beck, James Pfeifer, Jonathan A. Long, David M. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Acidification (OA) is negatively affecting the physiological processes of marine organisms, altering biogeochemical cycles, and changing chemical equilibria throughout the world’s oceans. It is difficult to measure pH broadly, in large part because accurate pH measurement technology is expensive, bulky, and requires technical training. Here, we present the development and evaluation of a hand-held, affordable, field-durable, and easy-to-use pH instrument, named the pHyter, which is controlled through a smartphone app. We determine the accuracy of pH measurements using the pHyter by comparison with benchtop spectrophotometric seawater pH measurements, measurement of a certified pH standard, and comparison with a proven in situ instrument, the iSAMI-pH. These results show a pHyter pH measurement accuracy of ±0.046 pH or better, which is on par with interlaboratory seawater pH measurement comparison experiments. We also demonstrate the pHyter’s ability to conduct both temporal and spatial studies of coastal ecosystems by presenting data from a coral reef and a bay, in which the pHyter was used from a kayak. These studies showcase the instrument’s portability, applicability, and potential to be used for community science, STEM education, and outreach, with the goal of empowering people around the world to measure pH in their own backyards. 2022-10-26T17:30:06Z 2022-10-26T17:30:06Z 2022-10-18 2022-10-26T11:07:56Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145994 Sensors 22 (20): 7924 (2022) PUBLISHER_CC http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s22207924 Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
spellingShingle Pardis, William
Grabb, Kalina C.
DeGrandpre, Michael D.
Spaulding, Reggie
Beck, James
Pfeifer, Jonathan A.
Long, David M.
Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title_full Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title_fullStr Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title_full_unstemmed Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title_short Measuring Protons with Photons: A Hand-Held, Spectrophotometric pH Analyzer for Ocean Acidification Research, Community Science and Education
title_sort measuring protons with photons a hand held spectrophotometric ph analyzer for ocean acidification research community science and education
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145994
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