Optics in Environmental Monitoring: Techniques and Applications
Optics in Environmental Monitoring: Techniques and Applications
Optical metrology is a powerful tool in environmental monitoring. It enables us to monitor water quality, track greenhouse emissions and analyze potential pollutants in soil. It is the key to many types of oceanographic research as well as contamination monitoring. In some situations— for instance, when analyzing nuclear waste— even tiny amounts of toxic chemicals can be catastrophic. Optical metrology solutions provide us with the ability to monitor even low concentrations of problematic substances. This gives us a real-time understanding of what is happening over multiple locations.
Environmental uses of optics aren’t limited to metrology. Plastic recycling, wastewater treatment, and solar energy production also involve optics. At Avantier, we produce optical components for all of these applications. In this article we’ll focus on the environmental metrology applications of some optical devices, and take a closer look at just how they work.