Salinity sensor provides long view of oceanic health

Now, a team at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) in Saudi Arabia has developed a flexible, lightweight and robust salinity sensor that can be attached to aquatic animals for long-term monitoring of their habitat.

According to KAUST, shifting ocean salinity can impact the health of marine organisms and affect key aspects of the ocean system, such as water circulation.

The saltier the water, the higher its electrical conductivity, which can be measured with a pair of electrodes. Problems arise, however, when microorganisms in seawater start growing on the electrode surface, causing a fall in the recorded conductance values.

Electrical engineer Jürgen Kosel is working with marine scientist Carlos Duarte from Kaust’s Red Sea Research Centre to develop monitoring devices that overcome these limitations.

The team, including PhD student Alayna Kaidarova, has created the sensor from a flexible polymer sheet. Writing on the sheet using a laser beam, the team heated targeted strips of the polymer, breaking down the polymer structure to produce conductive strips of graphene that form the electrodes.