Michel
Anna P. M.
Michel
Anna P. M.
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ArticleDivergent forms of pyroplastic: lessons learned from the M/V X-Press Pearl ship fire(American Chemical Society, 2022-07-29) James, Bryan D. ; de Vos, Asha ; Aluwihare, Lihini I. ; Youngs, Sarah ; Ward, Collin P. ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Hahn, Mark E. ; Reddy, Christopher M.In late May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire while anchored 18 km off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka and spilled upward of 70 billion pieces of plastic or “nurdles” (∼1680 tons), littering the country’s coastline. Exposure to combustion, heat, chemicals, and petroleum products led to an apparent continuum of changes from no obvious effects to pieces consistent with previous reports of melted and burned plastic (pyroplastic) found on beaches. At the middle of this continuum, nurdles were discolored but appeared to retain their prefire morphology, resembling nurdles that had been weathered in the environment. We performed a detailed investigation of the physical and surface properties of discolored nurdles collected on a beach 5 days after the ship caught fire and within 24 h of their arrival onshore. The color was the most striking trait of the plastic: white for nurdles with minimal alteration from the accident, orange for nurdles containing antioxidant degradation products formed by exposure to heat, and gray for partially combusted nurdles. Our color analyses indicate that this fraction of the plastic released from the ship was not a continuum but instead diverged into distinct groups. Fire left the gray nurdles scorched, with entrained particles and pools of melted plastic, and covered in soot, representing partial pyroplastics, a new subtype of pyroplastic. Cross sections showed that the heat- and fire-induced changes were superficial, leaving the surfaces more hydrophilic but the interior relatively untouched. These results provide timely and actionable information to responders to reevaluate cleanup end points, monitor the recurrence of these spilled nurdles, gauge short- and long-term effects of the spilled nurdles to the local ecosystem, and manage the recovery of the spill. These findings underscore partially combusted plastic (pyroplastic) as a type of plastic pollution that has yet to be fully explored despite the frequency at which plastic is burned globally.
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DatasetHollow Core Fiber Methane Sensor(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-08-10) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Kapit, JasonWe have developed a hollow core fiber optic sensor capable of measuring dissolved methane gas in liquids using only nanoliters of sample gas. The sensor is based on an anti-resonant hollow core fiber combined with a permeable capillary membrane inlet which extracts gas from the liquid for analysis.
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ArticleFlow-through quantification of microplastics using impedance spectroscopy(American Chemical Society, 2021-01-09) Colson, Beckett C. ; Michel, Anna P. M.Understanding the sources, impacts, and fate of microplastics in the environment is critical for assessing the potential risks of these anthropogenic particles. However, our ability to quantify and identify microplastics in aquatic ecosystems is limited by the lack of rapid techniques that do not require visual sorting or preprocessing. Here, we demonstrate the use of impedance spectroscopy for high-throughput flow-through microplastic quantification, with the goal of rapid measurement of microplastic concentration and size. Impedance spectroscopy characterizes the electrical properties of individual particles directly in the flow of water, allowing for simultaneous sizing and material identification. To demonstrate the technique, spike and recovery experiments were conducted in tap water with 212–1000 μm polyethylene beads in six size ranges and a variety of similarly sized biological materials. Microplastics were reliably detected, sized, and differentiated from biological materials via their electrical properties at an average flow rate of 103 ± 8 mL/min. The recovery rate was ≥90% for microplastics in the 300–1000 μm size range, and the false positive rate for the misidentification of the biological material as plastic was 1%. Impedance spectroscopy allowed for the identification of microplastics directly in water without visual sorting or filtration, demonstrating its use for flow-through sensing.
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ArticleAccelerating global ocean observing: monitoring the coastal ocean through broadly accessible, low-cost sensor networks(Marine Technology Society, 2021-05-01) Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Mooney, T. AranThe global coastal ocean provides food and other critical resources to human societies. Yet this habitat, for which many depend, has experienced severe degradation from human activities. The rates of human-induced changes along the coast demand significantly improved coverage of ocean observations in order to support science-based decision making and policy formation tailored to specific regions. Our proposal envisions developing a global network of low-cost, easily produced and readily deployed oceanographic sensors for use on a wide variety of platforms in the coastal ocean. A substantially large number of these sensors can thus be installed on existing infrastructure, ships of opportunity, and fishing fleets, or even individually along the coast, particularly in vulnerable and disadvantaged regions. This would vastly increase the spatiotemporal resolution of the current data coverage along the coast, allowing greater equitable access. It would also offer significant opportunities for partnership with communities, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders, as well as a wide range of commercial and industrial sectors to develop and deploy sensors in scalable networks transmitting data in near-real time. Finally, it presents a vastly lowered bar for participation by citizen scientists and other engaged members of the public to address location-specific coastal problems anywhere in the world.
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ArticleBiogeochemical exploration of the Pescardero Basin vents(The Oceanography Society, 2018-03) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Wankel, Scott D. ; Beaulieu, Stace E. ; Soule, Samuel A. ; Mullineaux, Lauren S. ; Coleman, Dwight ; Escobar Briones, Elva ; Gaytan-Caballero, Adriana ; McDermott, Jill M. ; Mills, Susan W. ; Speth, Dan ; Zierenberg, Robert
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ArticleDiscovering hydrothermalism from afar: In Situ methane instrumentation and change-point detection for decision-making(Frontiers Media, 2022-10-25) Preston, Victoria Lynn ; Flaspohler, Genevieve Elaine ; Kapit, Jason ; Pardis, William A. ; Youngs, Sarah ; Martocello, Donald E., III ; Roy, Nicholas ; Girguis, Peter R. ; Wankel, Scott ; Michel, Anna P. M.Seafloor hydrothermalism plays a critical role in fundamental interactions between geochemical and biological processes in the deep ocean. A significant number of hydrothermal vents are hypothesized to exist, but many of these remain undiscovered due in part to the difficulty of detecting hydrothermalism using standard sensors on rosettes towed in the water column or robotic platforms performing surveys. Here, we use in situ methane sensors to complement standard sensing technology for hydrothermalism discovery and compare sensors on a towed rosette and an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during a 17 km long transect in the Northern Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California. This transect spatially intersected with a known hydrothermally active venting site. These data show that methane signalled possible hydrothermal-activity 1.5–3 km laterally (100–150 m vertically) from a known vent. Methane as a signal for hydrothermalism performed similarly to standard turbidity sensors (plume detection 2.2–3.3 km from reference source), and more sensitively and clearly than temperature, salinity, and oxygen instruments which readily respond to physical mixing in background seawater. We additionally introduce change-point detection algorithms—streaming cross-correlation and regime identification—as a means of real-time hydrothermalism discovery and discuss related data supervision technologies that could be used in planning, executing, and monitoring explorative surveys for hydrothermalism.
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ArticleAdvancing observation of ocean biogeochemistry, biology, and ecosystems with cost-effective in situ sensing technologies(Frontiers Media, 2019-09-12) Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Moustahfid, Hassan ; Mueller, Amy V. ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Mowlem, Matthew ; Glazer, Brian T. ; Mooney, T. Aran ; Michaels, William ; McQuillan, Jonathan S. ; Robidart, Julie ; Churchill, James H. ; Sourisseau, Marc ; Daniel, Anne ; Schaap, Allison ; Monk, Sam ; Friedman, Kim ; Brehmer, PatriceAdvancing our understanding of ocean biogeochemistry, biology, and ecosystems relies on the ability to make observations both in the ocean and at the critical boundaries between the ocean and other earth systems at relevant spatial and temporal scales. After decades of advancement in ocean observing technologies, one of the key remaining challenges is how to cost-effectively make measurements at the increased resolution necessary for illuminating complex system processes and rapidly evolving changes. In recent years, biogeochemical in situ sensors have been emerging that are threefold or more lower in cost than established technologies; the cost reduction for many biological in situ sensors has also been significant, although the absolute costs are still relatively high. Cost savings in these advancements has been driven by miniaturization, new methods of packaging, and lower-cost mass-produced components such as electronics and materials. Recently, field projects have demonstrated the potential for science-quality data collection via large-scale deployments using cost-effective sensors and deployment strategies. In the coming decade, it is envisioned that ocean biogeochemistry and biology observations will be revolutionized by continued innovation in sensors with increasingly low price points and the scale-up of deployments of these in situ sensor technologies. The goal of this study is therefore to: (1) provide a review of existing sensor technologies that are already achieving cost-effectiveness compared with traditional instrumentation, (2) present case studies of cost-effective in situ deployments that can provide insight into methods for bridging observational gaps, (3) identify key challenge areas where progress in cost reduction is lagging, and (4) present a number of potentially transformative directions for future ocean biogeochemical and biological studies using cost-effective technologies and deployment strategies.
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ArticleObservations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin(Frontiers Media, 2021-04-29) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Preston, Victoria Lynn ; Fauria, Kristen ; Nicholson, David P.Open questions exist about whether methane emitted from active seafloor seeps reaches the surface ocean to be subsequently ventilated to the atmosphere. Water depth variability, coupled with the transient nature of methane bubble plumes, adds complexity to examining these questions. Little data exist which trace methane transport from release at a seep into the water column. Here, we demonstrate a coupled technological approach for examining methane transport, combining multibeam sonar, a field-portable laser-based spectrometer, and the ChemYak, a robotic surface kayak, at two shallow (<75 m depth) seep sites on the Cascadia Margin. We demonstrate the presence of elevated methane (above the methane equilibration concentration with the atmosphere) throughout the water column. We observe areas of elevated dissolved methane at the surface, suggesting that at these shallow seep sites, methane is reaching the air-sea interface and is being emitted to the atmosphere.
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ArticleLong-path quantum cascade laser–based sensor for methane measurements(American Meteorological Society, 2016-11-01) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Miller, David J. ; Sun, Kang ; Tao, Lei ; Stanton, Levi ; Zondlo, Mark A.A long-path methane (CH4) sensor was developed and field deployed using an 8-μm quantum cascade laser. The high optical power (40 mW) of the laser allowed for path-integrated measurements of ambient CH4 at total pathlengths from 100 to 1200 m with the use of a retroreflector. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy was used to make high-precision measurements of atmospheric pressure–broadened CH4 absorption over these long distances. An in-line reference cell with higher harmonic detection provided metrics of system stability in rapidly changing and harsh environments. The system consumed less than 100 W of power and required no consumables. The measurements intercompared favorably (typically less than 5% difference) with a commercial in situ methane sensor when accounting for the different spatiotemporal scales of the measurements. The sensor was field deployed for 2 weeks at an arctic lake to examine the robustness of the approach in harsh field environments. Short-term precision over a 458-m pathlength was 10 ppbv at 1 Hz, equivalent to a signal from a methane enhancement above background of 5 ppmv in a 1-m length. The sensor performed well in a range of harsh environmental conditions, including snow, rain, wind, and changing temperatures. These field measurements demonstrate the capabilities of the approach for use in detecting large but highly variable emissions in arctic environments.
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ArticleQuantum cascade laser-based reflectance spectroscopy: a robust approach for the classification of plastic type(Optical Society of America, 2020-05-28) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Morrison, Alexandra E. ; Colson, Beckett C. ; Pardis, William A. ; Moya, Xavier A. ; Harb, Charles C. ; White, Helen K.The identification of plastic type is important for environmental applications ranging from recycling to understanding the fate of plastics in marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial environments. Infrared reflectance spectroscopy is a powerful approach for plastics identification, requiring only optical access to a sample. The use of visible and near-infrared wavelengths for plastics identification are limiting as dark colored plastics absorb at these wavelengths, producing no reflectance spectra. The use of mid-infrared wavelengths instead enables dark plastics to be identified. Here we demonstrate the capability to utilize a pulsed, widely-tunable (5.59 - 7.41 µm) mid-infrared quantum cascade laser, as the source for reflectance spectroscopy, for the rapid and robust identification of plastics. Through the application of linear discriminant analysis to the resulting spectral data set, we demonstrate that we can correctly classify five plastic types: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), with a 97% accuracy rate.
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ArticleDissolved gas sensing using an anti-resonant hollow core optical fiber(Optical Society of America, 2021-11-15) Kapit, Jason ; Michel, Anna P. M.Sensors that measure dissolved gases directly are needed for environmental, industrial, and biomedical applications. Here we present a hollow core fiber optic sensor capable of measuring dissolved methane gas in liquids using only nanoliters of sample gas. The sensor is based on an anti-resonant hollow core fiber combined with a permeable capillary membrane inlet that extracts gas from the liquid for analysis. Using a small capillary inlet for gas extraction is only possible due to the small amount of sample gas needed for analysis, and it presents new possibilities for dissolved gas analysis in a simple, robust, and compact sensor configuration. We demonstrate the sensing technique using wavelength modulation spectroscopy and measure methane dissolved in water with a 1𝜎 lower detection limit of 230 ppb, a resolution of 45 ppb, and a response time of ∼8min.
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PreprintLaser induced breakdown spectroscopy for heavy metal detection in a sand matrix( 2016-09-21) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Sonnichsen, FrederickSediments in many locations, including harbors and coastal areas, can become contaminated and polluted, for example, from anthropogenic inputs, shipping, human activities, and poor waste management. Sampling followed by laboratory analysis has been the traditional methodology for such analysis. In order to develop rapid methodologies for eld analysis of sediment samples, especially for metals analyses, we look to Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as an option. Here through laboratory experiments, we demonstrate that dry sand samples can be rapidly analyzed for the detection of the heavy metals chromium, zinc, lead, and copper. We also demonstrate that cadmium and nickel are detectable in sand matrices at high concentrations.
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ArticleField-portable microplastic sensing in aqueous environments: a perspective on emerging techniques(MDPI, 2021-03-19) Blevins, Morgan G. ; Allen, Harry L. ; Colson, Beckett C. ; Cook, Anna-Marie ; Greenbaum, Alexandra Z. ; Hemami, Sheila S. ; Hollmann, Joseph ; Kim, Ernest ; LaRocca, Ava A. ; Markoski, Kenneth A. ; Miraglia, Peter ; Mott, Vienna L. ; Robberson, William M. ; Santos, Jose A. ; Sprachman, Melissa M. ; Swierk, Patricia ; Tate, Steven ; Witinski, Mark F. ; Kratchman, Louis B. ; Michel, Anna P. M.Microplastics (MPs) have been found in aqueous environments ranging from rural ponds and lakes to the deep ocean. Despite the ubiquity of MPs, our ability to characterize MPs in the environment is limited by the lack of technologies for rapidly and accurately identifying and quantifying MPs. Although standards exist for MP sample collection and preparation, methods of MP analysis vary considerably and produce data with a broad range of data content and quality. The need for extensive analysis-specific sample preparation in current technology approaches has hindered the emergence of a single technique which can operate on aqueous samples in the field, rather than on dried laboratory preparations. In this perspective, we consider MP measurement technologies with a focus on both their eventual field-deployability and their respective data products (e.g., MP particle count, size, and/or polymer type). We present preliminary demonstrations of several prospective MP measurement techniques, with an eye towards developing a solution or solutions that can transition from the laboratory to the field. Specifically, experimental results are presented from multiple prototype systems that measure various physical properties of MPs: pyrolysis-differential mobility spectroscopy, short-wave infrared imaging, aqueous Nile Red labeling and counting, acoustophoresis, ultrasound, impedance spectroscopy, and dielectrophoresis.
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ArticleExploration of the Northern Guaymas Basin(The Oceanography Society, 2018-03) Soule, Samuel A. ; Seewald, Jeffrey S. ; Wankel, Scott D. ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Beinart, Roxanne A. ; Escobar Briones, Elva ; Morales Dominguez, Esmerelda ; Girguis, Peter R. ; Coleman, Dwight ; Raineault, Nicole A. ; Wagner, Jamie K.S. ; Foulk, Aubrey ; Bagla, Anshika ; Karson, Jeffrey A.
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ArticleRiver Inflow Dominates Methane Emissions in an Arctic Coastal System(American Geophysical Union, 2020-04-23) Manning, Cara C. ; Preston, Victoria Lynn ; Jones, Samantha F. ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Nicholson, David P. ; Duke, Patrick J. ; Ahmed, Mohamed M. M. ; Manganini, Kevin ; Else, Brent G. T. ; Tortell, Philippe D.We present a year‐round time series of dissolved methane (CH4), along with targeted observations during ice melt of CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) in a river and estuary adjacent to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. During the freshet, CH4 concentrations in the river and ice‐covered estuary were up to 240,000% saturation and 19,000% saturation, respectively, but quickly dropped by >100‐fold following ice melt. Observations with a robotic kayak revealed that river‐derived CH4 and CO2 were transported to the estuary and rapidly ventilated to the atmosphere once ice cover retreated. We estimate that river discharge accounts for >95% of annual CH4 sea‐to‐air emissions from the estuary. These results demonstrate the importance of resolving seasonal dynamics in order to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from polar systems.
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DatasetTracking Sargassum in the Caribbean: the deployment and validation of a low-cost surface drifter(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2023-04-26) Pixa, Chase ; Manganini, Kevin ; Michel, Anna P. M.Sargassum blooms have been causing significant ecological and economic damage to coastal regions in the Northern Equatorial Atlantic since 2011. To better understand the movement and effects of this macroalgae, there is a need to track its transport. In this study, a low-cost drifter was deployed, designed to entangle with Sargassum and aid in its tracking. The design was based on the results of twenty-seven drifter designs and five days of field trials. The tracking data was validated using gridded wind and current products, as well as high resolution satellite imagery. The successful entanglement and tracking with the Sargassum demonstrated in this study can provide in situ movement data to ground-truth models and supplement gaps in satellite imaging. The results can guide future studies and further our understanding of its movement in the great Atlantic Sargassum belt (GASB).
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DatasetDiscovering hydrothermalism from afar: in situ methane instrumentation and change-point detection for decision-making(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-10-06) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Wankel, Scott D. ; Preston, Victoria Lynn ; Flaspohler, Genevieve Elaine ; Kapit, Jason ; Pardis, William A. ; Youngs, Sarah ; Martocello, Donald E. ; Girguis, Peter R. ; Roy, NicholasSeafloor hydrothermalism plays a critical role in fundamental interactions between geochemical and biological processes in the deep ocean. A significant number of hydrothermal vents are hypothesized to exist, but many of these remain undiscovered due in part to the difficulty of detecting hydrothermalism using standard sensors on rosettes towed in the water column or robotic platforms performing surveys. Here, we use in situ methane sensors to complement standard sensing technology for hydrothermalism discovery and compare sensing equipment on a towed rosette and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during a 17 km long transect in the Northern Guaymas Basin. This transect spatially intersected with a known hydrothermally active venting site. These data show that methane signaled possible hydrothermal activity 1.5-3 km laterally (100-150m vertically) from a known vent. Methane as a signal for hydrothermalism performed similarly to standard turbidity sensors (plume detection 2.2-3.3 km from reference source), and more sensitively and clearly than temperature, salinity, and oxygen instruments which readily respond to physical mixing in background seawater. We additionally introduce change-point detection algorithms---streaming cross-correlation and regime identification---as a means of real-time hydrothermalism discovery and discuss related data monitoring technologies that could be used in planning, executing, and monitoring explorative surveys for hydrothermalism.
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DatasetHunting Bubbles Falkor Cruise 2019(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019-12-23) Michel, Anna P. M. ; Wankel, Scott D. ; Nicholson, David P. ; Fauria, Kristen ; Preston, Victoria LynnThe Hunting Bubbles Cruise took place in August-September 2018 on the R/V Falkor (cruise ID 180824). Ship time was provided by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. This cruise investigated transport of methane from seeps located on the Cascadia Margin. Data archived at the WHOAS repository supplements additional data from this cruise available at the R2R rolling deck to repository and at MGDS: Marine Geoscience Data System.