Leibniz Institut für Meereswissenschaften
| Used as: | European Iron Fertilisation Sea Research Facility |
| Location: | Antarctica, Cape Verde & Ecuador |
| Sector: | Academic, Education & Research |
| Solution: | Portable Container |
- Used for research into the role of trace metals on primary productivity in the ocean
- Sea-water penetration, corrosion and collision proof
- Maintains cleanroom conditions despite environmental conditions outside (i.e. tropical storms)
- Internal plant room with Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
- Meets low trace element standards to enable sensitive scientific monitoring
- Built-in seawater sampling system
The container Clean Room went on its first mission in early 2004 and according to Dr Peter Croot, it "proved to be excellent at maintaining cleanroom conditions despite the environment encountered outside. During storms waves broke over the cleanroom and a neighboring container was even stoved in 40-50 cm after a direct hit. The door of the cleanroom didn't leak and this is a remarkable achievement in itself for the Southern Ocean. During the cruise we were able to collect and analyze open ocean samples with apparently little or no contamination, as demonstrated by low background iron concentrations of 10-100 pM (1012 mol L-1").
Technical Specification:
The container cleanroom was used for the first time during EiFeX (European Iron Fertilisation Experiment), a mesoscale experiment in which algae growth in the iron-limited Southern Ocean was promoted by adding iron oxide (ferrous sulphate) to a 50 km2 study site. This approach has been suggested as a possible method to remove anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere and thus mitigate the effects of global warming.
After a successful spell in the harsh Southern oceans around Antarctica in 2004, the containerised mobile cleanroom has been sent to the Cape Verde islands near the Equator and Saharan Africa, and it will be relocated to Ecuador in the near future.
The bespoke container consists of an ISO class 7 cleanroom with an ISO Class 5 Laminar Air Flow (LAF) bench, complete with anchor points to secure the contents, a change area and plant room with an UPS. Special consideration was given to design and construction in order to cope with extreme environments.