Achievement

IGERT trainee Ian Tse successfully completed a proof of concept on a novel quantitative imaging apparatus capable of performing three-dimensional Lagrangian particle tracking in aqueous environments. The ability to resolve the velocities and accelerations of individual particles allows the description of forces acting on the particles. This apparatus consists of a borescope mounted onto a CCD camera and fitted with a custom triple pinhole mask. The borescope provides magnification and access into small spaces and particle laden environments. The triple pinhole mask facilitates a technique called digital defocusing particle image velocimetry (DDPIV) that can resolve the three components of the velocities of particles in its interrogation volume. This apparatus will result in fundamental discoveries about how plankton and other small marine organisms interact with the turbulence around them.