Cost-Effective Hyperspectral Transmissometers for Oceanographic Applications: Performance Analysis

The recent development of inexpensive, compact hyperspectral transmissometers broadens the research capabilities of oceanographic applications. These developments have been achieved by incorporating technologies such as micro-spectrometers as detectors as well as light emitting diodes (LEDs) as ligh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 15; no. 9; pp. 20967 - 20989
Main Authors Ramírez-Pérez, Marta, Röttgers, Rüdiger, Torrecilla, Elena, Piera, Jaume
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 26.08.2015
MDPI
Subjects
Attenuation
Attenuation coefficients
beam transmissometer
Coastal environments
Coastal water
compact
cost-effective
Environmental policy
hyperspectral
Light emitting diodes
Optical properties
Optimization
Performance evaluation
Salinity
Sensors
Thermal management
Transmissometers
uncertainties assessment
Germany
ANE, Germany
beam transmissometer
compact
cost-effective
hyperspectral
thermal management
light emitting diodes
uncertainties assessment
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Summary:The recent development of inexpensive, compact hyperspectral transmissometers broadens the research capabilities of oceanographic applications. These developments have been achieved by incorporating technologies such as micro-spectrometers as detectors as well as light emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources. In this study, we evaluate the performance of the new commercial LED-based hyperspectral transmissometer VIPER (TriOS GmbH, Rastede, Germany), which combines different LEDs to emulate the visible light spectrum, aiming at the determination of attenuation coefficients in coastal environments. For this purpose, experimental uncertainties related to the instrument stability, the effect of ambient light and derived temperature, and salinity correction factors are analyzed. Our results identify some issues related to the thermal management of the LEDs and the contamination of ambient light. Furthermore, the performance of VIPER is validated against other transmissometers through simultaneous field measurements. It is demonstrated that VIPER provides a compact and cost-effective alternative for beam attenuation measurements in coastal waters, but it requires the consideration of several optimizations.
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ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s150920967