Noss Reliable and competitive salinity sensors for studying coastal waters

Coastal operational oceanography, estuarine and aquaculture zone water monitoring and management of marine wastewater outlets – such as in the GIRAC project – are all activities currently undergoing development and demanding increasingly reliable, robust and reasonably priced measuring instruments, including salinity sensors in particular. The global market is for the most part dominated by non-French companies using technology based on conductivity and temperature measuring.

Nke, which manufactures multi-parameter probes and embarked "salinity, temperature and pressure" mini probes as well as complex automated systems (buoys), has opted to develop research led by ENST Bretagne. The NOSS project will employ optical density measurements to determine salinity and to perfect an operational sensor for coastal use. The company will be incorporating the new optical measuring feature into its probes and buoys and will launch a fully tried and tested product better able to cope with sea conditions than its rivals. The new product will also be competitively priced, as it will include low-cost optics and electronic components.