Study of pressure effects on ocean in-situ detection using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has attracted extensive attention as a new technique for in-situ marine application. In this work, the influence of deep-sea high pressure environment on LIBS signals was investigated by using a compact LIBS-sea system developed by Ocean University of China for the in-situ chemical analysis of seawater. The results from the field measurements show that the liquid pressure has a significant effect on the LIBS signals. Higher peak intensity and larger line broadening were obtained as the pressure increases. By comparing the variations of the temperature and salinity with the LIBS signals, a weak correlation between them can be observed. Under high pressure conditions, the optimal laser energy was higher than that in air environment. When the laser energy exceeded 17 mJ, the effect of laser energy on the signal intensity weakened. The signal intensity decreases gradually at larger delays. The obtained results verified the feasibility of the LIBS technique for the deep-sea in-situ detection, and we hope this technology can contribute to surveying more deep-sea environments such as the hydrothermal vent regions.