Development of an Irradiance Sensor Based on a Photon Counting Camera

Abstract

This thesis describes the development and testing of a new irradiance sensor. Light from the sun affects all life on earth, and recent studies give reason to believe that some life might even react to the microscopic levels of light found in the Arctic polar night. Commercial light meters are not sensitive enough to register the light in these dark periods of the year, thus the need for a new sensor has emerged.

During a field campaign in Ny-Ålesund in January 2014, conducted as part of the Marine Night Research project, a prototype of the sensor was first tested. The results were promising, and work began to develop a more complete software system that is able to measure the light environment of the Arctic for extended periods of time. The development of this sensor system, and initial tests, are described in this thesis.

This part of the project ended with a working system that is to be tested on the next field campaign of the Marine Night project, in January 2015. A manual has been written for the users, and is included as part of this thesis. Also included is the code documentation, intended for the future developers of the system.