Grant: Idea to Innovation

The Seafloor Gas Seep Sampler (SGSS) system is to be used to collect samples of seeping gas from the bottom of an aqueous environment such as the seafloor. It can be used on irregular surfaces and tight spaces as long as the bubbles of seeping gas are free to rise up into the water column. The system can be used at all water depths. For very shallow depth, gas collections can be made by an individual scuba diver. For deeper samples, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or manned deep-submergence vehicle (DSV) is required to retrieve a sample - which is the same standard operation limitation for all isobaric gas samplers. The SGSS system can be operated in a safe manner that does not allow for a workplace hazard. The modular nature of the design allows for more than one sample to be taken per dive making it potentially more cost effective than previous designs. The SGSS system solves three critical problems: 1) unrestrained deployment of the system to any water depth or environmental condition; 2) it is safe to use in all such environments; and 3) has a low cost that is unparalleled to anything else currently on the market. Previous isobaric gas sampler designs require the collection vessel to be heavily reinforced to contain the expanding gas while it is brought to the sea surface. Special valves are needed to ensure the safe transfer of the high-pressure gases. The SGSS can likely be produced for a fraction of that cost. The SGSS affords up to 4 individual gas samples to be collected. Pressure release values have been used in the past, but they can fail to release the exceeding pressure allowing for the previous types of gas samplers to have potential explosion hazards. The SGSS design allows expanding gas to safely escape to ensure a fool proof operating condition. The gas within the SGSS does not exceed 10 PSI. The gas is also kept to its pristine geochemical condition as the SGSS relies on a water barrier to maintain a seal. The initial prototype of the SGSS system has been built and fully tested. A US patent application is being drafted by Bereskin & Parr and will be submitted.