Sunburst News

Sunburst Demonstrates SAMI-CO₂ at ICOS OTC 2019

Sunburst Sensors was invited to participate in the 2nd Integrated Carbon Observation System Ocean Thematic Centre (ICOS OTC) sensor workshop at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany in November 2019. The purpose of the 3-day workshop was to train ICOS members in best practices for CO₂ measurements, as well as instrument maintenance and data handling. Reggie Spaulding presented SAMI-CO₂ best practices, maintenance, and quality control. Approximately 30 members from across Europe attended.

ICOS will sponsor a pCO₂ measurement intercomparison exercise in 2021 at the Flanders Marine Institute in Belgium. The exercise will focus on underway instruments. We plan to test our SuperCO₂ and our AFT-CO₂ instruments.

Sunburst Employees Support Girls in STEM

Sunburst employees are key supporters of a Girl Scout troop and their First Lego League robotics team, the Intergalacducks. This team of 11 – 14 year old girls built a Lego robot and programmed it to complete several “missions” in the Into Orbit Challenge. They also researched and presented the idea of growing edible flowers in space using hydroponics as a means of improving mental and physical health of astronauts. The team won first place in a competition between 77 teams from Montana. This propelled them to the FLL World Festival in Houston, TX, in April 2019. The Intergalacducks thank Sunburst for financial contributions and coaching!

SAMI-CO2 Instruments Help Our Understanding of the Role of the Arctic Ocean in Climate Variability

In September of 2018, two ice-tethered profilers (ITP) with SAMI-CO2 instruments were deployed beneath Arctic sea ice. The ITPs include a surface buoy with satellite transmitter and CTD profiler that measures physical and biogeochemical properties from the surface to 800 m depth. The SAMIs are deployed directly under the ice at ~6 m. The ITPs are analogous to the Argo float program that deploys profiling floats in the oceans (Figure 1). Cory Beatty from Mike DeGrandpre’s lab at the University of Montana was part of the 2018 expedition, deploying SAMI-CO2 instruments on two of the ITPs (ITP 107 and 110). Sunburst worked with Beatty to configure the SAMIs to transmit data in real time via an inductive modem. pCO2 measured at ITP 107 is shown in Figure 2. The complete data sets can be viewed and downloaded www.whoi.edu/itp.

Sunburst Sensors LLC travels to Fiji, working with GOA-ON and the Ocean Foundation

November 2017 – Sunburst Sensors continues its working relationship with the Ocean Foundation in their efforts to expand the international community of people trained to monitor ocean acidification. Traveling to Fiji, James Beck was part of the team that helped train scientists from nearby countries in how to use the iSAMI-pH to collect time series data. The participants in the workshop received equipment and training to use in their studies.

Sunburst Sensors LLC makes generous donation to Climate Smart Missoula

Why Climate Smart Missoula?

At the same time Sunburst Sensors was accepting the Ocean Health XPRIZE, Climate Smart’s Leadership Team was putting the finishing touches on Missoula’s Community Climate Smart Action Plan V1.0 (available at climatesmartmissoula.org) which showcases goals, priorities and strategies across 12 focal areas. With the endorsement of this action plan from Mayor John Engen, Climate Smart is moving forward with implementation. Working with the City of Missoula, they have just initiated a first-ever community greenhouse gas inventory. This baseline carbon footprint is important to understanding when and where progress is made.

Climate Smart Missoula is also a partner in “Solarize Missoula”, a community campaign to dramatically increase the number of residential solar electric systems installed in Missoula by reducing complexity and cost.

Climate Smart Missoula is focused on building a healthy and resilient community, one that can adapt to and bounce back from stressors like increased wildfire smoke and warmer temperatures. They plan to initiate a “Summer Smart – Climate Smart” program in the coming year, and Sunburst’s donation will undoubtedly help jumpstart not only this effort, but many more.

As an initiative of the Missoula Community Foundation, Climate Smart Missoula works closely with the City of Missoula, Saint Patrick Hospital, the University of Montana, and many other non-profit organizations and businesses.

Meredith Printz, Executive Director of the Missoula Community Foundation, is excited to see this type of giving for this new, crucial initiative. “Our foundation’s mission is to ensure the diversity and vitality of the greater Missoula community. A smart, measured approach to community resiliency is key, and there is much work ahead. This generous and forward-thinking gift demonstrates how lucky we are to have community members giving back so we can ensure a vibrant community for future generations of Missoulians.”