Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VISOR (Versatile water vapour isotope calibration device (VISOR) for laboratory and field use)
Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-07-31
Climatic change will have large impacts on the global water cycle, and thus on hazardous weather and the availability of water to society. Earth observation from ground to space is necessary to detect how and where the water cycle changes. The stable isotope composition of water vapour and precipitation is a sensitive indicator of ongoing and future water cycle changes. Continuous, ground-based observation of water vapour isotopes has recently become possible by the availability of analyzers based on infrared laser spectroscopy. However, there is currently a lack of solutions available that would allow to easily and comprehensively characterize these analyzers and the corresponding air inlet system with regard to several important measurement artefacts that degrade data quality. Within the ERC Consolidator Grant project ISLAS (Isotopic Links to Atmospheric Water's Sources), we have developed a prototype device that could fill this gap. Possessing a substantial range of flexibility, the prototype device has the potential to more easily and reliably characterize and calibrate water isotope spectrometers, and to reduce measurement time and thus the cost of routine liquid water isotope measurements in laboratories.
The VISOR project aimed to explore the innovation potential of the prototype device. The main tasks were to eliminating a number of weaknesses of the original design, allowing for more robust and automated operation of the device, facilitating the manufacturing, as well as integrating various components into a common casing. Further development tasks concerned upgrades to the control software, and the electronics of the device. Another important activity concerned the documentation of the performance characteristics of the device with regard to long-term and short-term stability of the signal, and the capability to mix water from different standards. Finally, we aimed to explore pathways to commercialisation for the VISOR device.
We could demonstrate that the VISOR device technology performs at a level that allows to characterize water vapour isotope spectrometers more reliably and more easily than existing approaches. We also tested the VISOR technology successfully in different application environments. These performance characteristics of the VISOR device have been documented in two scientific publications. New solutions to generating heated carrier gas, evaporating and mixing liquid, and priming the dispensing head have been developed as part of the new VISOR device. Finally, the integration of the VISOR device in a portable casing is now been completed, enabling to attract the interest of industrial partners in licensing the technology, and marketing the device.