Automated system for fast and accurate analysis of SF6 injected in the surface ocean

This paper describes an automated sampling and analysis system for the shipboard measurement of dissolved sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) in surface marine environments into which SF6 has been deliberately released. This underway system includes a gas chromatograph associated with an electron capture detector, a fast and highly efficient SF6-extraction device, a global positioning system, and a data acquisition system based on Visual Basic 6.0/C 6.0. This work is distinct from previous studies in that it quantifies the efficiency of the SF6-extraction device and its carryover effect and examines the effect of surfactant on the SF6-extraction efficiency. Measurements can be continuously performed on seawater samples taken from a seawater line installed onboard a research vessel. The system runs on an hourly cycle during which one set of four SF6 standards is measured and SF6 derived from the seawater stream is subsequently analyzed for the rest of each 1 h period. This state-of-art system was successfully used to trace a water mass carrying Cochlodinium polykrikoides, which causes harmful algal blooms (HAB) in the coastal waters of southern Korea. The successful application of this analysis system in tracing the HAB-infected water mass suggests that the SF6 detection method described in this paper will improve the quality of the future study of biogeochemical processes in the marine environment.