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Stanford Underwater Laboratory

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The Stanford Underwater Laboratory has developed several pumping systems for water and air that are part of our MG series. The main focus of these systems is to support our seawater carbon chemistry research, but they can be used and adapted to sample water for other research.

Underwater lab equipment
Underwater lab equipment
MG1 series underwater equipment

MG1-V3: 12-Port Auto Sampler

MG1 Series is an autonomous underwater multiport AutoSampler. It uses an internal peristaltic pump to feed a multiport manifold that connects up to 12 pinch valves. It is controlled by an Arduino Pro mini and open source code making it easy to make code changes on the fly. The size of peristaltic pump can be changed out to meet other pumping and sampling needs and the type of sample containers can be syringes, bags, bottles, or even filters. This system has been redesigned to fit into a commercially available enclosure, but still requires custom machined end plates similar to the original. Designs for this system were published in HardwareX  (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2021.e00197).

Underwater lab equipment
Underwater photo of equipment

MG2-V2: 2-channel external controlled AutoPump system

MG2 Series is an autonomous underwater AutoPump. This system uses external 12V pumps to feed flow-through instrumentation. The original design was developed to support our BEAMS experiments, but it can be used for other applications. While we designed it to control pumps it can control any external 12V device. It is controlled by an Arduino Pro mini and open source code. Like all of our submersible systems, this system was also designed to fit into a commercially available enclosure. Designs for this system were published in HardwareX (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2020.e00154).

Control box for equipment
Underwater lab equipment - valve controller

MG3-V2: Automated Multiport Pumping System (AMPS)

MG3 Series is an automated multiport flow-through water pumping and sampling system nicknamed AMPS. This was designed to measure seawater for carbon system chemistry. The base system includes a multiport manifold, waste pump, peristaltic sampling pump, and a controller. The controller contains an Arduino Mega 2560 with LCD that operates a series of relays and solenoids in a watertight enclosure. The solenoids control a suite of pneumatic valves attached to a circular inner sampling manifold and an outer waste manifold that attached and a waste pump. The peristaltic sampling pump connects to the inner sampling manifold and feeds flow-through instrumentation. Designs for this system were published in HardwareX (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2020.e00147)

MG4-V1:8 channel external controlled autopump system
MG4-V1: 8-channel external controlled AutoPump system

MG4-V1: 8-channel external controlled AutoPump system

MG4 Series is a modification of the MG2 Series and is designed to control up to 8 external devices. The system still uses the Arduino Pro mini and open source code. This is one of our more recent designs and was built to support a recent project. Unlike the MG2 this system was configured to fit into a commercially available enclosure. This particular system was designed to control pumps mounted on a mooring line to feed seawater to a flow-through sensor. Designs will be included in upcoming publications and will be posted on Open Science Framework.

MG5-V1: Air Compressor/Carrier Gas System

MG5-V1: Air Compressor/Carrier Gas System

MG5 Series is a combination air compressor/carrier gas system that was built to feed carbon dioxide and water free air to an IR detector used with our MG3 Series design in the field where the availability of compressed are as not available. Small internal pumps were used to provide ~15 psi and flow rates up to 450 ml min-1. Larger pumps would be necessary for higher demands. This same system has been used with SCUBA tanks in place of the small pumps as the two scrubbers serve to remove the carbon dioxide and water from the compressed air. Designs for this system can be found at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Y4QSA

Contact Information

Stanford University
473 Via Ortega, Rm. 140
Stanford, CA 94305

Email: dam1@stanford.edu