The appearance of the online monitoring system (left), and the towed body equipped with the chemical sensor and turbidity sensors in the experiments of detecting hydrothermal vents (right).

Seawater contains various chemical elements that are significant in scientific research. These elements are affected by diverse chemical transport mechanisms including atmosphere, river, hydrothermal and other natural processes. Much research has been conducted on the measurement of chemicals in seawater in which various methods were utilized, and the corresponding measurement instruments were developed.

However, some high-precision methods and instruments can only be applied in laboratories and are not practical in field trails, especially in the extreme environment of the deep sea with low temperatures and high pressures. Moreover, the measurement tools are limited by their power supply modes, such as instruments powered through a cable or equipped with a low-capacity battery, which are not suitable for long-term deep sea measurements.

In order to achieve measurement objectives and in-situ monitoring of chemicals in the ocean, a low power-consumption, multi-channel chemical sensor which is able to perform measurements at depths of more than 4,000 m was developed.

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