#42 - Floating Cities and Ambient Air Analysis

The debate over anthropogenic global warming does not seem to be cooling off. There are many opinions offered from both sides. There are also many credibility accusations made from both sides.

Couple of general thoughts:

• Polar ice melting may or may not be a cyclical event that occurs naturally due to cyclical climate changes. However, I would be really surprised if noticeable changes of this kind have historically happened in less than 100yrs.
• The ice ‘system’ on earth is really big. Getting to move in a particular direction in such a short time would require a sizable push. A big part of the key would be to prove a large portion the ice is really melting, and where this ‘push’ came from.
• It is standard practice for big industry to downplay environmental impacts & effects.
• Downplaying global warming would definitely serve the interests of many combustion- and petroleum-based industries. Many thinking people are therefore very wary of popular industry-influenced efforts to down-play or deny anthropogenic warming effects.

Anyway, if all of the forecasts about ice melting and ocean levels rising are true, that brings up inevitable questions about where all of the water-displaced people are going to live. The fine folks at eVolo have encouraged their contributors to think about this issue as a starting point for some novel architectural designs. Similar designs have emerged from other sources also. Even Thomas Dolby is interested in floating cities.

Nova does not have any capability in architectural design; especially underwater structures. However, as environmental issues have come to the forefront in many countries, we have noticed a high level of interest in portable ambient air monitoring. The analytical performance of portable instruments is less than one would expect from larger continuous systems. However, the performance of portable instruments is frequently adequate for establishing site baselines and evaluation of known atmosphere constituents in the ppm (parts per million) range.

The Nova 600 Series Portable Multi-gas Ambient Air analyzers are intended for analysis of a few specific gases in ambient air. The original intent of these analyzers was to monitor the safety of breathable air. The analysis ranges in this series generally reflect the levels associated with permissible exposure limits (PEL) in occupational environments. However, as mentioned above, we have seen an increasing number of environmental applications of this product line.

The gases and ranges available in this analyzer series are:

• Oxygen (O2): 0-25.0%
• Carbon Monoxide (CO): 0-200ppm
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2): 0-5000ppm
• Nitrogen Oxide (NO): 0-100ppm
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): 0-20ppm
• Relative Humidity & Temp: 0-100% RH / -40°C to +40°C
• LEL Combustibles: 0-100% (as CH4 usually)
• Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S): 0-20ppm
• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): 0-20ppm
• Chlorine (Cl2): 0-20ppm
• Ammonia (NH3): 0-20ppm
• Hydrogen Chloride (HCL): 0-20ppm

 

Nova 600 Series in Nova on-line catalogue... (Some of the specs and features have been modified since the website went live, but the catalog covers the basic idea.)

We can usually do up to four gases in one analyzer. This depends on the gas mixtures and levels expected in the sample. If you are interested in this type of gas analysis, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.

1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/
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Ice melting pics:
Top right – Upsala Glacier photo copyright Archivo Museo Salesiano / Green Peace
Bottom right - Upsala Glacier photo copyright Green Peace / Beltra
Top left – Muir Glacier photo by William Field
Bottom left – Muir Glacier photo by Bruce Molnia
http://www.whiteearth.org/WhiteEarthScience.html

Floating city pics:
Left Side
Water-Scraper: Underwater Architecture
http://www.evolo.us/competition/water-scraper-underwater-architecture/
Right Side (from top)
Wetropolis: Towards a Post Diluvian Future
http://spluspba.weebly.com/a-post-diluvian-future.html
Lilypad, A Floating Ecopolis For Climate Refugees - Vincent Callebaut Architectures
(http://vincent.callebaut.org/page1-img-lilypad.html)
Gyre-Seascraper
http://zigloo.ca/gyre-seascraper/
Underwater Architecture – Taiwan Skyscraper
http://www.evolo.us/architecture/underwater-architecture-taiwan-skyscraper/


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