Research highlights Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Portable buoy charters promising voyage - Buoys - permanent, single-purpose moorings, right? Not so, if its part of a promising new buoy developed by researchers at the Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at its Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim, Wash.
The Aquatic Bio-optical and Environmental Assessment Monitoring Buoy is designed to validate satellite signals recorded and relayed from space, while simultaneously monitoring water quality parameters in coastal, estuarine and inland waters. The portable, lightweight buoy provides quick-response data gathering for natural resource assessment in these waters.
During its fall 2000 maiden voyage, the prototype buoy was towed into Sequim Bay. Equipped with cell-phone technology and a multi-sensor platform, the buoy demonstrated it could communicate with researchers in near real-time and provide customized data. This new generation of buoy also shows promise for saving money by providing a remote platform for data collection, rather than manning labor-intensive and expensive shipboard platforms.
New research to drool over - Having the ability to determine within minutes whether a person has been exposed to harmful chemicals would be an important medical breakthrough, particularly in emergency situations. Typically, the most effective method for assessing exposure requires analysis of blood or urine. However, this often is time consuming and expensive.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are developing a new monitoring technology structured around the collection and analysis of saliva samples. PNNLs non-invasive saliva monitoring approach, currently undergoing bench-scale laboratory testing, offers several new promising features. The technology is designed to be portable, highly reliable and quick in providing results. It would be cost-effective for home and workplace monitoring of tr
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Contact: PNNL Media Relations
greg.koller@pnl.gov
509-375-3776
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
5-Apr-2001