In situ osmotic analyzer for the year-long continuous determination of Fe in hydrothermal systems

A submersible osmotically pumped analyzer (Fe-OsmoAnalyzer) has been adapted for the long-term continuous high resolution monitoring of iron(II) and (III) in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Ferrozine is used as the colorimetric reagent. The detection limit for our analyzer is 0.1??M for a 0.7cm pathlength with a linear response up to 50??M. The Fe-OsmoAnalyzer uses periodic injections of standards and blanks to self calibrate and can operate unattended for over a year collecting data every 15min. The Fe-OsmoAnalyzer was field tested during a 6 week test deployment at 900m in Monterey Bay and a year-long deployment at 1100m off the coast of Hawaii. A second year-long deployment in a low temperature hydrothermal vent on the Juan de Fuca Ridge provided high resolution continuous monitoring of Fe and was able to distinguish tidally influenced fluctuations in Fe concentrations. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.