Constructing unique analytical instrument for world famous oceanographic instituteSeptember 02, 2002Cox Analytical Systems AB, a spin-off company from Chalmers Institute of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden, has just signed a contract with Southampton Oceanography Centre in England to construct an instrument for microradiographic and microchemical analysis of sediment cores. This means that a truly unique instrument will be constructed to make possible the study of chemical and physical conditions in layers of sediment from hundreds of thousands of years ago. The instrument will be based on the special patented technology of x-ray optics that was originally developed at the Department of Experimental Physics at Chalmers Institute of Technology in Göteborg. The instrument will attain levels of precision and resolution that were previously beyond reach and will operate in such a way that the sediment cores remain fully intact and can thereby be preserved for future analysis. The instrument screens sediment cores and can reveal particle size and chemical composition, among other things. This enables scientists to draw certain conclusions about the conditions that prevailed when the sediment settled or where it came from. The project is in collaboration with Southampton Oceanography Centre, which is one of the world's leading oceanographic institutes, with a unique collection of deep sea sediment. Researchers hope that the results of measurements registered by an instrument of this sort will yield a superior scientific understanding of the chemical and physical conditions that prevailed several thousand years ago. Swedish technology is thus being given an opportunity to make its mark in one of the most rapidly growing fields of research. The company hopes that this technology can be developed into an analytical standard in sediment research around the world. "The instrument will be used next year, and we are constructing it according to specifications from Southampton," says Anders Rindby at Cox Analytical Systems. "The assignment is well suited to our competence in x-ray optics, and we envisage an expandable niche in oceanographic studies." | |||||||||||||||||||||
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