SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED QUANTITAT1ON OF ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Application Serial No. 10/723,534. filed November 24, 2003; U.S. Application Serial No. 10/915,890, filed August 12, 2004; and U.S. Application Serial No. 10/952,635 filed September 29, 2004. The disclosures-of all three of these prior U.S. patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to analytical instrumentation systems, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for quantifying compounds such as gases, vapors, liquids, solids, and/or other environmental parameters. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Sensor methods and devices for quantification of volatile and nonvolatile compounds in fluids are known in the art. Typically, quantification of these parameters is performed using dedicated sensor systems that are specifically designed for this purpose. These sensor systems operate using a variety of principles including electrochemical, optical, acoustic, and magnetic. For example, a variety of spectroscopij? sensors operating with colorimetric liquid and solid reagents are available to perform evaluation of color change. It is known'that conventional CD/DVD (compact disk/digital video disk) drives can be used for conducting optical inspection of biological, chemical, and biochemical samples. However, in order to make these drives useful for detection of parameters not related to. digital data stored on optical media, the optical system of the drives must be modified. For example, U.S. Patent 5,892,577 describes an optical disk drive, which is modified to obtain the information related to chemical and biochemical detection. This modification included an addition of one or two more detectors that are used for transmission measurements. An original detector of the drive is used to read the digital address on the disk associated with the analyte-sensitive region. Added detectors operating in transmission mode provide information on the sample to be inspected. This information from additional detectors can be quantitative with 256 grey levels. As the use of CD/DVD drives has developed, the development of sensors in conjunction with optical storage media has also developed for the use in CD/DVD drives. For operation of such a modified optical disk drive, special optical disks are prepared. For example, U.S. Patent 6,327,031 discloses optical disks having a semi-reflective layer to reflect a portion of light to one detector and transmit a portion of light to another detector. U.S. Patent 6,342,349 describes another optical drive based measurement system. In this system, analyle-specific signal elements are disposed with the optical disk's tracking features. Thus, the analyte-specific signal elements are readable by the optics used for tracking, although modified or additional optics elements are added. For the system to be applicable, a signal responsive moiety is of a small size, compatible with the size of the focused light beam of the optical drive and is reflective. Most preferably, the signal response moiety is a gold rnicrosphere with a diameter between one and three micrometers. The assay type used in this optical detection system is of a binary nature (see U.S. Patent 6,342,349 column 15, lines 23-37) and is not easily emendable to quantitative analysis based on light absorbance, reflection, scatter, or other optical phenomena. Another method has also been described to screen the recognition between small molecule ligands and biomolecules using a conventional CD player. A procedure was developed to attach ligands to the reading face of a CD by activating the terminus of polycarbonate, a common polymer composite, within the reading face of the CD. Displays were generated on the surface of a CD by printing tracks of ligands on the disk with an inkjet printer. Using this method, disks were created with entire assemblies of ligand molecules distributed into separate blocks. A molecular array was developed by assembling collections of these blocks to correlate with the CD-ROM-XA formatted data stored within the digital layer of the disk. Regions of the disk containing a given ligand or set of ligands were marked by a spatial position using the tracking and header information. Recognition between surface express ligands and biomolecules was screened by an error determination routine (see Org. : Biomot. Chem., 1, 3244-3249 (2003)). Different types of analyte-specific signal elements are also known in the art. International patent application WO 99/35499 describes the use of colloidal particles, microbeads, and the regions generated by a corrosive attack on one or several layers of a compact disk as a result of binding between the target molecule and its' non-cleavable capture molecule. The analyte-specific signal elements can be arranged in arrays, for example, combinatorial arrays (Internationa! Patent Application WO 98/12559). In addition to the solid and gel types of anaJyte-specifk signal elements, other types include the liquid-containing regions (Camera Bioscience System, see: Anal. Chem. 71 4669-4678 (1999)). In a related art, remote automated sensors have been employed for a variety of applications ranging from the cost-effective monitoring of industrial processes, to the determination of chemicals toxic to humans at locations of interest, to analysis of processes in difficult-to-access locations. For these and many other reasons, a wide variety of sensors have been reported that operate in the automatic, unattended mode. For example, sensors were reported that operate remotely for detection of toxic vapors, uranium ions, and many other species. Measurements have also been done remotely in space on manned and unmanned spacecraft. Remote measurement systems can be initiated and monitored via the Internet where a dedicated sensor is connected to a computer that receives commands via the Internet as described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,931,913, 6,002,996, 6,182,497, 6,311,214, 6,332,193, 6,360,179, 6,405,135, and 6,422,061. Generally, upon receiving a command, the computer initiates a sensor that is specifically designed to perform a sensing function and is connected to the computer. The sensor, performs the measurement, the computer receives trie sensor signal, and optionally, sends the signaj back to a control station. Automated computer-controlled sensors for remote unattended operation known: in the art have two distinci components. These components are (!) a sensor itself and (2) a computer. These components are designed and built to perform initially separate functions ; predetermined location on the waveform. Upon analysis, the signal quality is compared with the reference value that can be stored in advance in computer memory or can be provided by a signal of another region of the optical disk or from another reference disk in another drive. The signal from the sensor device is further compared with a predetermined threshold signal quality (step" 1514). This predetermined threshold signal quality can be indicative of a certain level of the measured environmental parameter. The final response of the computer can be sending a status report via the network as an electronic mail or by other means (step 1516). Alternatively, such report can be sent only when the measured signal exceeds the predetermined threshold signal quality. The networked sensor system 1400 can also monitor the rate of change in the sensor • *, response and determine both an accelerated change in the target parameter, and conversely, a significant decrease in the target parameter. This allows the remote monitoring system 1400 to tell when an event occurs, the severity of the event, and when the e.vent is no longer outside a pre-established operating range. Additionally, interpretation of rates of change in the target parameter can be used to provide information about the periodicity of the event, a key element in troubleshooting the cause of the parameter variance. This is particular useful for unattended systems that have discontinuous events. Quantitative detection of chemical species, via experimentation, was achieved with an optical drive sensor installed in a personal computer at a remote location. Depending on.the chemically sensitive reagents distributed in the sensing regions on the optical disc, different types of chemicals can be monitored. An example of this sensing strategy was demonstrated for detection of humidity. For demonstration, the changes in this chemical concentration were produced by bubbling different amounts of dry air through liquid water. Vapor introduction was controlled by the same software, e.g. LABVIEW®, that was also used to operate the optical drive sensor. Additionally, this data acquisition program permits network communication between computers and remote automated monitoring and control of data acquisition parameters. Chemically sensitive regions, e.g., sensor spots, were produced by dissolving Rhodamine 800 laser dye in Nafion and casting films onto an optical disc. Optical inspection of the dry film was performed to evaluate the optical response of the films to moisture. Typical spectra are shown in FIG. 16. The spectra were collected in absorbance mode using a fiber-optic-based portable spectrograph. As a reference, a spectrum of the film in dry air was used (baseline curve in FIG. 16). Upon exposure to moisture, the absorbance of the film was changed as indicated in FIG. 16, e.g., humid air. The wavelengths of interest (650 and 780 nm) can be easily used with this reagent for moisture determinations. Signal changes of the computer optical drive sensor in the presence of different amounts of ambient water vapor around the sensor, e.g., 0% RH and approximately 80% RH, are presented in FIG. 17. Data collection parameters were set as follows: spot position, 500,000 logical block; waveforms to average, 10; record length 200 Ks/s; and saving frequency, 1 waveform per 5 s. This data demonstrates the practicality of the applications of the optical drive sensors for remote monitoring of chemicals in the ambient. Typical results of remote quantification of chemical species using a remote optical drive sensor are presented in FIG. 18. In these measurements, a Nafion/Rhodamine 800 sensor material positioned on a disk was exposed to variable concentrations of water vapor (0, 22 and 67% RH). Data collection parameters were set as follows: spot position, 330,000 logical block; waveforms to average, 40; record length 200 Ks/s; and saving frequency, 1 waveform per 2 s. When the sensor was exposed to low water-content gas (point A), the sensor signal was the largest as indicated in FIG. 18. Upon increasing concentrations of water vapor, the signal of the sensor was proportionally decreasing. This figure also illustrates the good reproducibility of measurements. . Next, with specific reference to FIGs. 19-22, will be described a system 1900 of remote quantifying of compounds. The system 1900'enables the automatic and remote determination of the quantity of compounds in a fluidic, solid or gel-like substance. System 1900 includes a retrieval device 1904 that moves between a plurality of stations at which certain activities takes place. For example, at station 1902 (FIGs. 19, 20), a DVD 1906 including a plurality of sensor spots 1910 is retrieved by the retrieval device 1904 from a stack 1908 of such DVDs. Retrieval device 1904 may be, for example, a robotic arm having a vacuum pickup feature. Alternatively, retrieval device 1904 may be a robotic arm having an electromagnetic pickup, a mechanical pickup feature (such as multiple fingers that grasp the disk at the outer rim or through the inner hole), or an adhesive pickup feature. The adhesive pickup feature may include a pressure sensitive or thermally sensitive adhesive. The robotic arm of retrieval device 1904 elevates DVD 1906 in a direction A and then transports DVD 1906 to station 1920 (FIGs. 19, 21). At station 1920, retrieval device 1904 moves DVD 1906 into contact with the fluidic, solid or gel-like material that includes the compounds to be quantified. For example, and as illustrated in FIG, 21, the robotic arm of retrieval device 1904 lowers DVD 1906 in a direction B into contact with a material 1924 located within a vat 1922. Alternatively, instead of dipping DVD 1906 into material 1924, DVD 1906 may be placed in contact with a freely flowing stream of material 1924. Alternatively, the material 1924 may be f • introduced to the system through an injection system that injects the material 1924 into a pre-configured fluidic sampler that delivers a controlled volume of the material 1924 to e>ch of the sensor spots 1910 contained on the DVD 1906. Sensor spots 1910 are brought into contact with material 1924 so that a determination may be made as to the quantity of a particular compound located within material 1924. Next, retrieval device 1904 transports DVD 1906 to station 1930 (FIG. 19), at which excess material 1924 is removed from DVD 1906. Utilizing an injection system can minimize the fluid removal step required prior to reading the DVD 1906. After the excess material 1924 has been removed, retrieval device 1904 transports DVD 1906 to station 1904 (FIGs. 19, 22), at which DVD 1906 is optically read. The robotic arm of retrieval device 1904 moves DVD 1906 into an optical drive 1944. The-optical drive 1944 may be a DVD optical drive or other suitable-reading device. As shown, the optical drive 1944 includes a drive tray covered by a removable door 1942. DVD 1906 is released by the robotic arm of retrieval device .1904 once it is positioned within the drive tray. Door 1942 is closed under computer control and a laser is turned on and positioned so that the optical signals can be recorded. Once the optical signals have been recorded, door 1942. is removed and DVD 1906 is picked up again by retrieval device 1904 and moved to a station 1950 (FIG. 19), at which DVD 1906 is discarded. Two sets of automated operations must be executed and synchronized - the movement of retrieval device 1904 and controlling optical drive 1944. Commercially available robots or motion control mechanisms can be utilized as retrieval device 1904 and programmed to move between stations 1902, 1920, 1930, 1940 and 1950. A computer program can be utilized to control optical drive 1944. For example, a program written in LABVIEW® may be uploaded to a personal computer in communication with optical drive 1944. A front panel of the LABVIEW® program is illustrated in FIG. 23. The analysis of the optical drive 1944 may be custom configured to allow time adjusted sequencing to adapt to variation in process loading or sequence timing. FIG. 24 illustrates the output of optical drive 1944. As is shown, the laser output turns on and off synchronous with the closing and opening, respectively, of door 1942. With specific reference to FIGs. 25, 26, next will be described an optical reading system that is external to a personal computer or other computing device. While many optical reading devices, such as DVD optical drives, are incorporated within personal computers, such optical reading devices also are available in stand-alone packages. Such optical reading devices can be placed in communication with computing devices through a universal serial bus or through wireless means. As shown in FIG. 25, a DVD drive 1944 is connected to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 2502. The ADC 2502 is connected to a universal serial bus 2504, which is connected to a computing device 2506. Alternatively, the DVD drive 1944, ADC 2502 and computing device 2506 can be placed in communication with one another through the use of an Ethernet interface or a wireless connection, such as a Bluetooth wireless connection. FIG. 26 illustrates data collected while scanning nine chemical sensor spots. As described above, a conventional CD or DVD optical storage media disk, which can be any commercial CD or DVD, is preferably encoded with information beforehand in the form of pits and/or bumps on at least one side of the disk. Typically, such CD or DVD is an injection-molded piece of clear polycarbonate plastic. During manufacturing, the plastic is impressed with microscopic bumps arranged as a single, continuous, extremely long spiral track of data. The spiral track of data preferably follows a circular path outward from the inside of the disk to the outside. Pits are often referred to when discussing CDs instead of bumps. Typically, pits appear on The reflective side, bumps appear on the side the laser reads from. Predetermined spatial locations on the optical disk are defined as "sensor regions". Depending on the application, the sensor regions are responsive to physical, chemical, biochemical, and other parameters in the environment. The cross-sectional area of the light beam is smaller than the area of the sensor region. During spinning of the disk, the light beam interacts with the sensor region as the light beam passes through the sensor region, reflects off the optical media's reflective layer, and passes back through the sensor region prior to detection. The interacted light waves are modulated in proportion to changes of various conditions of the sensor region, for example, changes to the concentration of a compound affecting the sensor region. After the light has interacted with the sensor region, the reflected light intensity will be read by the optical disk drive to quantify the amount of the compound contained in the sensor region. This is because the intensity of the reflected light as read by the optical disk drive is indicative of the quantity of the compound contained in the sensor region. Changes in light scatter can be produced as a result of sorbing a solution containing light scattering material into the sensor region. For example, different concentrations of paniculate in wastewater can be determined from the change in the detector light intensity due to the scatter of light after passing through a sample film, e.g.; sensor region. As another example, hydrolytic stability of samples can be determined from the change in the detector light intensity due to the scatter of light after passing through the sample 'film upon exposure to high temperature, humidity, and/or pressure. As a further example, sample abrasion resistance can be determined from the change in the detector light intensity due to the scatter of light after passing through the sample film upon exposure of the samples to abrasion test such as oscillating sand, Taber test, sand-blast, or others. The reading of the disk may be accomplished by detecting changes in some measurable property, for example intensity, of the laser light, which has passed through the sensor regions, said change being induced by the presence and character of the sensor material impressed oh the surface of the disk. This change in property is detected by an appropriate optical detector 210, and is then converted by analog-to-digital converter 220 to a digital signal, usually a binary signal, to be recorded by the associated computer architecture. The measurable property of the light altered by the sensor material may be intensity, as is the case in presently available CD ROM readers, but may be some other measurable property such as polarization angle, phase or wavelength. A variety of physical, chemical, biochemical and environmental parameters quantitatively affect the level of signal produced by the sensor regions on an optical disk. Optical parameters include optical properties of the measured sample, for example, its refractive index, absorbance, polarization, scatter, and any other optical parameters of the sample or induced by the sample on the sensor regions. The non-optical parameters are those contributing from, for example, sample thickness and sample morphology, as well as from the performance of the optical disk drive, such as beam defocusing and detector gain. Referring again to FIG. 2A, the sensor system 200 includes a disk drive 202 for. supporting and rotating a disk 204 as known in the art. In operation, the disk drive 202 is coupled to a drive motor 206 for rotating the disk 204. The optical disk drive further includes a light source 208, e.g., a laser, for directing light onto'a readable surface of the disk 204 and an optical detector 210 for detecting light reflected from the disk 204. The light source 208 and optical detector 210 are mounted on a tracking mechanism 212 to move the light source 208 and optical detector 210 in an outward direction from a center of the disk while in a read operation. As the optical detector moves outward along the radial paths of the disk, it is known that the spinning speed of the disk decreases so as to maintain a constant velocity and data acquisition rate between the optical detector and optical disk data track. The data contained in the raw RF signal (about 10 MHz) shows up as noise when sampled at 200 kHz in the analog-to-digital converter 220. Because the processor 222 is interested only in the average levels in a baseline signal and peaks of the measured signal, this noise can be further reduced by filtering via hardware signal filter 2J8. For example, FIG. 31A shows a relatively noisy data stream 60A captured without the use of a filter 218. By comparison, FIG. 31B shows a smoother data stream 60B after the data was captured with a filter 218, for example a one-microsecond low pass signal filter. The results of FIG. 31B show that significant improvement in signal to noise levels in the collected waveforms can be achieved with conventional signal filtering 218. . The connection to the optical signal output is made inside of the DVD/CD disk device. Depending on the manufacturer of the device, this connection may be made to test points labeled "RF, "Raw RF", "RF Out", etc. The most useful signal is obtained immediately following the optical detector and before any equalization or gain compensation has been applied. This signal is brought outside of the disk drive on a separate wire and connected to the input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), such as National Instruments model 6023E (PCI slot interface) or National Instruments DAQCard-AM6XE-50 (PCMCIA interface): The sampling rate of the ADC should be greater that 100,000 samples per second in order to obtain sufficient data points to define changes in the output of the optical detector originating from the sensor regions. It does not need to resolve the bjts in the digital data signal. The sampling rate is determined according to the following formula: Equation 1: Srjlc = (W * 2 * n * R)/(60 * X) where: W is disk rotation speed (rpm); R is radial location of circumferential data track; ' X is required spatial resolution along a circumferential data track; 2 * n * R is the circumferential length of a data track. Referring again to FIG. 2A, the system 200 may include a trigger detector 214 coupled to the optical detector 210 to determine when a change in level of light has occurred, e.g., when light is reflected from a pit or a land, to generate a 0 or 1 data stream as known in the art. However, unlike conventional optical disk drives, drive 200 includes an analog-to-digital converter 220 coupled to the optical detector 210 for measuring intensity values of the reflected light as an RF signal. Outputs of the trigger detector 214 and the analog-to-digital converter 220 are sent to processor 222 for rendering measured intensity values on an input/output device 224, such as a display, or via an audio means 226. The system 200 will further include a memory 227, such as a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), etc., for storing data and application programs. Detector intensity is defined as the RF signal generated by the intensity of reflected light captured by the optical detector 210. Drive 200 includes an analog-tordigital converter A/D 220 coupled to the optical detector 210 for measuring intensity values of the reflected light as an RF signal. Output from the analog-to-digital converter 220 is sent to processor 222.for rendering measured intensity values on a display 224 or via an audio means 226. The present scanning sensor system was evaluated by creating an optical disk with a reference gray-scale pattern 30 as shown FIG. 28. This disk was then subjected to the array-scanning capabilities of the present invention. Typically, an array of data results is collected during each revolution of the disk. The disk drive control software of the present invention can be programmed to rotate the disk one complete revolution at each radial increment of the disk. After each revolution, the laser-detector optical head (optical detector) is moved outward a predetermined radial increment until the entire sensor region is interrogated by the light beam. Alternatively, the disk may be programmed to rotate more than one time, for example 30 times, at each radial increment before the laser-detector optical head is moved outward. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disk may be programmed to rotate many more times; for example, a hundred, a thousand, a million or more times at each radial increment if desired. Accordingly, when more than one data stream is collected at each radial increment, the data from each radial increment can be averaged so as to improve precision of the results and improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected signal. The laser-detector optical head is initially positioned at a predetermined radial position of the disk. As the disk rotates, the laser-detector optical head begins to collect data. The disk may rotate one time or many times, depending on the quantity of data points desired, before the laser-detector.optical head is moved outward a predetermined radial increment, for example 0.1 mm, along the radial path of the disk. At this new radial location, again the disk may rotate one time or many times to collect data from the sensor region before the laser-detector optical head is again moved a predetermined radial increment outward along the disk. This process is repeated until the entire sensor region or a predetermined portion of the sensor region has been interrogated by the laser-detector optical head. The results from this experiment are illustrated in FIGS. 29A and 29B. The vertical lines of different gray scale of the intensity graph correspond to the signal intensity of the reflected light after it has interacted with the reference gray-scale pattern of FIG. 28. The ordinate of FIG. 29A corresponds to the number of radial increments or outward movements of the laser-detector optical head required to interrogate the entire sensor region of the disk. In FIG. 29A, the non-uniform spacing of the vertical lines is due to the fact that the spinning speed of the disk relative to the laser-detector optical head increases as the laser-detector optical head moves outward along the radial path of the disk. As a result, the spacing of the data as a function of time increases as the number of radial increments or outward movements of the laser-detector optical head increases. It is known that the spinning speed of the disk typically increases as the optical detector moves outward along the radial paths of the disk. As a result, unless the sampling rate is adjusted to compensate for the changing spinning speed of the disk, the scanning results may become distorted as shown by the non-uniform spacing of the gray-scale vertical lines in FIG. 29A. To compensate for the distortion, the sampling rate of the A/D converter can be periodically changed as a function of the radial position of the laser-detector optical head according to Equation 1 above. In this way, the scanning capabilities of the present invention were improved as evidenced by the uniform spacing of the gray-scale lines in the scanning results of FJG. 29B. Another option for achieving uniform spacing of the gray-scale lines may be to keep the spinning speed of the disk constant during the scanning process. : The system of the present invention may collect a data stream starting at any random location. For example, after the disk table of contents is read, the processor can instruct the drive to access data at any random logical block address on the disk. In this method, data collection does not depend on a trigger and can be initiated at. any time. The disk includes a digital data section and a sensor section including a plurality of sensor regions. Since data is recorded on the spiral track from the inside of the disk to the outside, the digital data section is located on the innermost part of the disk. The digital data section may include information on the locations of the sensor regions, types of sensor regions, or other pre-recorded baseline parameters stored in memory. Sample data from a sensor region is then correlated to the prerecorded baseline parameter to reveal quantitative information about the sensor region. Once the data stream has been captured, the control software allows the operator to select a representative region 50 for advanced data processing as shown by the selection window on the visual map of FIG. 30. The selected data stream can be displayed as a series of waveforms 70 (shown as dotted lines in FIG. 32A). The dotted lines 70 are averages of 30 waveforms collected over a constant region of the disk. This data stream of waveforms 70 was captured continuously during inspection of the gray-scale pattern of FIG. 28 (for example during n = 30 revolutions of-the disk). As a result, there coiild be over 100,000 data points in the data stream. Improvement in signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved by averaging the scanning results from a representative region of the data stream along a particular gray-scale line or senspr region of the optical disk. If we consider the selected area in FIG. 30 as an array of individual measurements of the same object, we can use ensemble averaging to minimize fluctuations and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Since the signal is constant, it is known that the signal will increase directly with an increased number of measurements (n). By comparison, however, it is known that fluctuations caused by, random noise will increase as the square root (sqrt) of the number of measurements. Thus, the signal-to-noise ratio will improve with increased measureme'hts according to the following relationship: Equation 2: n / sqrt n; or simply, sqrt n. As best shown in FIG. 32B, averaging the scanning results from a particular sensor region produces an average waveform 72. Further increases in signal-to-noise ratios can be achieved by allowing the disk to spin many times at each radial increment, and then averaging the results from each rotation of the disk to produce an average waveform 72. FIG. 32B illustrates an average waveform 72 produced by averaging the scanning results from a constant location of the sensor region. Here, by minimizing the variation in the detected data stream corresponding to each sensor region, tlte averaging of scanning results along a particular sensor region further improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected signal. This averaging method is achieved with inventive control software incorporating signal processing algorithms, which locate a pattern within each data stream, and then extract subsets of data, each of which.corresponds to a single revolution. As best shown in FIG. 32B, the subsets are summed or averaged according to Equation 2 as discussed above to obtain an average waveform 72. If incomplete subsets exist at the start or end of the data stream, they are discarded. As a result of using the developed signal and data processing method, the achieved reduction in the noise level was found to be more than 5 times. In accordance with our previous patent applications, various signal-processing and data processing approaches were developed to further, improve signal measurement precision. The developed approaches were based on the selection of an appropriate region, po§i;tion, and size around the sensor region. The precision-improvement data analysis ean include, but is not limited to, summing, averaging, Fourier filtering, Savitsky-Golay filtering, and any other data analysis technique known in the art. Referring now to FJG. 27A, there is shown a flow chart summarizing an improved method for carrying out quantitation of environmental parameters in accordance with the present'invention. In initial step 101 A, parameters including the radial position (in millimeters), radial increment (mm), and total points for the disk are set. this information effectively directs the light source to scan the entire surface of the disk, starting at .the innermost radius and progressively moving outwards in specified increments of radial distance. In step 102, each dimensional location in millimeters is converted to a corresponding logical block address (LBA), thereby allowing the optical head to "seek" each specified LBA so as to record an average waveform for each radial p'osition. In the next step 103, an average waveform and intensity plot can be displayed on a graph during data acquisition. Finally, in step 104, the captured i data is sav'ed to computer memory, for example as a 2-dimentional array (e.g., spreadsheet) of analog detector response (e.g., volts), as a sequence of voltage-time waveforms, or is saved and displayed as 2-dimensional intensity map image, or any combination of these. An alternative method for carrying out quantitation of environmental parameters is summarized in the flow chart of FIG. 27B. Here, initial step 101B provides a table of predetermined radial positions describing the precise location of specified sensor regions, which can then be read directly from a data file. In order to create a tabte of predetermined radial positions, a small single absorbing mark is placed on an optical media disk, and the radial location of this mark is precisely measured. The disk is then placed in an optical media drive, and the RF output is monitored using an oscilloscope. A command is issued to the optical pickup head to move to logical block address (LBA) zero. The LBA is incremented, the command is .issued again, and the oscilloscope trace is examined for the presence of the absorbing region. This procedure is repeated until the absorbing region begins to be seen in the oscilloscope trace. The LBA corresponding to that physical location is now known. Next, a second small single absorbing mark is placed at a different radial location on the disk, and the above process is repeated to find the LBA corresponding to the second region. After similarly measuring 6 to 10 regions at various radial locations, a general relation between LBA and radial location can be defined, either in a table, or as a polynomial equation. By utilizing this pre-programmed table of radial positions for describing the location of particular sensor regions, the control software is effective to position the optical head at predetermined locations of the disk, allowing the optical head to examine only the regions of a disk that contain sensor regions or regions of interest. In this way, the optical head is allowed to bypass areas of the disk that are not of interest, thereby improving the timing and efficiency of data collection. The steps of this process are generally illustrated in FIG. 27B. This method provides advantage in timing and efficiency in that the optical head only moves to specific regions of the disk that are in need of examination, and then the corresponding optical signals can be measured from these locations only. The captured data can be stored and displayed as in the first mode described above, recognizing that gaps in the data must be accounted for when displaying a 2-dimensional intensity map. Gaps in the data can be accounted for based on the radial information provided during the initial reading of the table of radial positions obtained during initial step 101B. It is understood that a variety of software designs could be used to accomplish the above tasks without undue experimentation. Writing code for such software is within the ability of one skilled in the art ofjfbmputer programming. It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures may be implemented in software, "the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings of the present invention provided herein, one of ordinary'skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these, and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention. It is to be understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms of basic input/output systems (BIOS), hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors, integrated circuit (1C) chips, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the present invention may be implemented in software as an application program -tangibly embodied on a program storage device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units 222 (CPU), a random access memory (RAM) and a read -only memory (ROM) 227, and input/output (I/O) device(s) 224 such as, keyboard, cursor control device (e.g., a mouse) and display device (not shown). The CPU can be a microprocessor of the kind available from Intel Corporation. An internal system clock is also provided for performing temporal analysis as well as automating drive movements at specific times. The computer platform also includes an operating system and micro-instruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the micro-instruction code or part of the application program (or a combination thereof) which is executed via the operating system. Source code is one method of viewing a computer program. The source code is compiled to object code and is executed by the computer. In addition, various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional storage device and printing device. The source code developed for ihe present invention was compiled to object code, for example with a Borland Delphi compiler, and was executed by the controlling computer. With these instructions, the controlling computer can issue commands to the Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) to position the optical head 'in the DVD or CD optical drive. The seek command will cause the optical head to be positioned at a specified Logical Block Address (LBA). Because logical blocks are located sequentially along the recorded spiral data track, it is possible to move the optical head to a precise radial location by specifying the appropriate LBA. In the case of a personal computer running Microsoft Windows®, the invention includes new software written to make use of the DeviceloControl function and the SCSI Pass Through command. The required SCSI commands have been compiled into a dynamically linked library (DLL). The source code file for the SCSI command software is written for use with the Borland Delphi compiler. The LabVIEW programs are virtual instrument (*.vi) files. A computer program that performs such a series of tasks in accordance with the present disclosure can be written in numerous ways. The program can be written in different programming languages, such as C++, Visual Basic, etc. Within a single programming language, such a series of tasks can be coded in several ways. Writing code for such software is within the skill of the art, not requiring undue experimentation, once the software's functions as described herein have been disclosed. The connection to the optical signal was made inside of the DVD/CD disk device. Depending on the manufacturer of the device, this connection may be made to test points labeled "RF1, "Raw RF", "RF Out", etc. The most useful signal is obtained immediately following the optical detector and before any equalization or gain compensation has been applied. This signal is brought outside of the disk drive on a separate wire and connected to the input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), such as National Instruments model 6023E (PCI slot interface) or National Instruments DAQCard-AI-16XE-50 (PCMCIA interface). The sampling rate of the ADC should be greater that 100,000 samples per second in order to obtain sufficient data points to define changes in the output of the optical detector originating from the. sensor regions. It does not need to resolve the bits in the digital data signal. The data from the ADC was processed, recorded, and displayed on the controlling computer using a high-level language such as LabVlEW from National Instruments.. LabVIEW is also used to issue SCSI commands to control the optical head through the previously mentioned DLL. Data quality can be improved by adding a trigger mark on the disk that passes by the optical detector just prior to the passing of the sensor region. When the trigger mark is detected in the optical detector signal, data collection commences and continues for a specified period of time. This enables the measurement of sensor regions that cause only small signal changes. Data quality can also be improved by averaging multiple waveforms collected at a specified LBA. As described above, drive 200 of FIG. 2A included an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 220 coupled to the optical detector 210 for measuring intensity values of the reflected light as an RF signal. Output from the A/D converter 220 is sent to processor 222 for rendering measured intensity values on a display 224 or via an audio means 226. ' For example, the analog signal, e.g., measured intensity of light, was coupled to an input of an analog-to-digital conversion circuit such as a National Instruments DAQCard model A1-16XE-50, and the digital data is read into a personal computer. Alternatively, the analog signal may be acquired from an analog-to-digital circuit inside a modified optical drive or externally from, for example, a digital oscilloscope. The intensity and duration of a laser pulse required for quantitative activation will be dependent on numerous factors; namely, the power and frequency of the laser, the amount of power actually delivered to the sensor regions by the system optics, the size of the sensor region, and the photochemical properties of the sensor material chosen by the practitioner. Determination of the most effective power level and pulse length can be determined by known methods, for example those disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,143,854 and is within the ability of one skilled in the relevant arts. It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures may be implemented in software, the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings of the present invention provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention. Furthermore, the system may be employed to detect phase changes of materials deposited onto the disk. As disclosed in our previous applications, the system 200 may include an inductive heater that heats a specific sensor region on the optical disk. The sensor region is heated and a phase change is indicated by a change in light reflection, turbidity, etc. Phase detection will work with solid materials coated in the sensor region, or in contained solutions, e.g., for dew-point/bubble-point detection. Similarly, plasticization, crystallization, dissolution and/or freezing will be detectable. In addition to intensity changes, other measurable properties of light can be used for quantitation in the sensor region such as light polarization state, phase, and the direction of the propagation of light after interaction with the sensor region. For example, the system may be employed to detect phase changes of materials deposited onto the disk. In combination with the methods of the present invention, the optical disk drive 200 may include a vapor induction port for drawing a vapor including a compound into the drive to expose the vapor to the optical disk. The vapor induction port (not shown) was fabricated by creating an opening in the front panel of the optical drive. The opening was approximately 3 mm in diameter, although larger or smaller openings could be used to obtain the same results. A vapor delivery line was then connected to the vapor induction port to facilitate passage of environmental vapors or other analytes into the disk drive so as to expose the sensor regions to such vapors and/or analytes when the optical disk is located inside the disk drive. Optionally, a fan may be employed to facilitate drawing the vapor into the induction port. To measure the impact of environmental parameters on the sensor regions of the disk, data can be collected and a baseline can be recorded from the sensor region before the disk is exposed to the environment. After the disk is exposed to the environment for a period of time (for example a fraction of a second, a few .seconds, minutes, hours, or days), data can again be recorded from the sensor region. Any differences between the results collected during these different time periods can be correlated to indicate presence and quantitation of analytes and other environmental parameters to which the sensor regions have been exposed. Such data can then be recorded and displayed as a 3-D data array including, units of elapsed time between measurements. Also measurement of a baseline can be omitted from the sensor region before the disk is exposed to the environment to simplify the disk operation., Accordingly, the developed system also contains means for displaying data as a three-dimensional data array, where data is a two-dimensional intensity map as a function of exposure of sensor regions to analytes and other environmental parameters where this exposure is performed in the drive and recorded during the disk readout. Nonlimiti.ng examples of other environmental parameters are temperature, humidity, and gases such as ozone, carbon dioxide, and any known gases that can be entered into the disk drive during the drive operation. These environmental parameters change the optical properties of sensor regions after these regions were exposed to analytes. Such changes improve the precision and accuracy of quantified signal. These improvements are produced from the change of signal from the regions because of the exposure to environmental parameters and relation of this change to sensor condition. In still further aspects of the present invention, FIGS 33A and 33B illustrate how a visual image generated by the present sensor system may be used to identify shapes and measured sizes of sensor regions. Here, the invention permits scanning of complicated geometrical patterns such as GE logo 82 which covers a portion of the optical disk as depicted in Figure 33A. The scanning process begins once the optical detector is positioned proximate the innermost portion of the sensor region (i.e., GE logo). The ordinate of FIG. 33B corresponds to the number of outward radial movements required for the detector to interrogate the entire sensor region. The abscissa of FIG. 33B corresponds to the lime increments required to pass the laser-detector over the sensor region. The time increments are measured during the spinning of the disk. Depending upon user controlled preferences; such as the total time allotted to collect the data and the accuracy and precision required of the desired results, the disk drive control software of the present invention can be programmed to rotate the disk one time, or more than one time at each radial location, and multiple times to record multiple 2-D images of same sensor regions as functions of time. Using the developed software, quantitative scanning capabilities of complicated geometrical patterns are easily achieved. These capabilities are useful where different regions of scanned geometrical patterns provide different chemical information. Thus, upon chemical exposure, different patterns may be created, thereby providing useful visual images of complicated geometrical patterns. An example of such possibility for a chemically sensitive pattern is depicted in FIG. 34. Each of the regions deposited on the optical disk can be sensitive for a certain chemical species or/and its concentration. The wavelengths of these determinations can be CD reading wavelength (780 nm) or DVD reading wavelength (650 nm). Upon exposure, the certain regions are determined using the scanning algorithm. A computer program that performs such a series of tasks in accordance with the present disclosure can be written in numerous ways. The program can be written in different programming languages, such as C++, Visual Basic, etc. Within a single programming language, such a series of tasks can be coded in several ways. Writing code for such software is within the skill of the art, not requiring undue experimentation, once the software's functions as described herein have been disclosed. Thus, the present invention discloses a new system and method of accomplishing the above tasks, and computer programming that, when executed by a computer, accomplishes these tasks. While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in typical embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present disclosure. As such, further modifications and equivalents of the disclosure herein disclosedftiijiay occur to persons skilled in the art using no more than routine, experimentation, and all sucli modifications and equivalents are believed to be within the scope'bf the disclosure as defined by the following claims. What is .claimed is: CLAIMS 1. An optical disk (300)comprising: a) a first substrate (320); b) a reflective layer (324); c) an optically transparent second substrate (328), wherein the second substrate (328) is disposed between the reflective layer (324) and a light incident surface of the optical disc; d) a data layer disposed between the second substrate (328) and the reflective layer (324); and e) at least one optically transparent sensor spot (306), wherein the at least one sensor spot (306) is disposed between the second substrate and the light incident surface. 2. The optical disk as in claim 1, wherein light transmission of the at least one sensor spot (306) is modulated by environmental stimuli. 3. The optical disk as in claim 1, wherein the data layer includes digital information (302) on a location of the at least one sensor spot (306): 4. The optical disk as in claim 3, further comprising a sensor spot pattern for determining the location of the at least one sensor spot (306) independent of the digital information (302) in the data layer. 5. A system (200) for quantifying compounds in fluids, gases, vapors, and solids, the system comprising: a disk drive (202.) for supporting and rotating an optical disk including at least one sensor spot; a light sour,ce (208) for directing light onto the at least one sensor spot; at least one optical pickup (210) for detecting light transmitted through the at least one sensor spot, the transmitted light being indicative of a concentration of a compound; and an analog-to-digital converter (220) for quantifying an intensity of the transmitted light. 6. The system as in claim.-5, wherein the optical disk includes digital data, and the system further comprises a digital-to-analog converter for reading the digital data from the at least one optical pickup (210). ; 7. The system as in claim 5, further comprising a memory (227) for storing a prerecorded standard response and a processor (222) for comparing measured intensity of the transmitted light to the prerecorded standard response. 8. In a. system including a disk drive for supporting and rotating an optical disc, a light source for directing light onto the optical disc, at least one optical pickup for detecting light transmitted from the optical disc, and an analog-to-digital converter for quantifying an intensity of the transmitted Jight, a method for quantifying a compound on the optical disc, the method comprising the steps of: preparing the optical disk with a plurality of sensor spots, each of the sensor spots being responsive to a compound (402); ? exposing the optical disk to a fluid, vapor, or gas (410); measuring intensity of transmitted light from at least one of the plurality of sensoi spots(414); and correlating the measured intensity of light, to an amount of compound exposed to the optical disk (416). 9. The method as in claim 8, further comprising the steps of measuring ar intensity of transmitted light from at least one of the plurality of sensor spots before exposing the optical disk to obtain a baseline reading (406) and correlating tru baseline reading to the measured intensity of transmitted light of the exposed disk to quantify the amount of compound in the exposed disk (416). 10. Av'networked sensor system (1400) for quantifying fluids, gases and vapors, the system comprising; a plurality of sensor devices (1404, 1406, 1408, 1410) comprising •4' ' a disk dri'ye for supporting and rotating an optical disk including at least one sensor spot; a light source for directing light onto the at least one sensor spot; at least one optical pickup for detecting light transmitted through the at least one sensor spot, the transmitted light being indicative of a concentration of a compound; and an analog-to-digital converter for quantifying an intensity of the transmitted light; a central processing unit (1402) for processing signals received from the plurality of sensor devices; and a network (1412) for coupling the plurality of sensor devices (1404, 1406, 1408, 1410) to the central processing unit (1402). 11. An optical media sensor system (1900) for quantifying compounds, comprising: a robotic arm (1904) capable of transporting an optical medium (1906) between a plurality of stations; and an optical' media reader (1944) capable of determining a quantity of at least one compound on said optical medium (1906). 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said optical media reader (1944) is capable of automatically determining a quantity of at least one compound on said optical medium (1906). 13. The system of claim 11, wherein said robotic ami (1904) is capable of retrieving a plurality of optical medium (1906) in succession from a first station (1902). 14. The system of claim 13, comprising a second station (1920) having a source for at least one compound, wherein each said optical medium (1906) is exposed to said source (1924). 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the source (1924) is provided in a vat (1922). 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the source (1924) is provided in a freely flowing stream. 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the source (1924) is provided by injecting a volume of the source (1924) into a pre-configured fluidic sampler that delivers controlled amounts to each optical medium (1906). . 18. The system of claim 14, comprising a third station (1930) at which excess amounts of said source (1924) are removed from each said optical medium (1906). 19. The system of claim 18, comprising a fourth station (1940) at which said optical medium (1906) is loaded into and unloaded out of said optical media reader (1944). 20. The system of claim 11, wherein said optical media reader (1944) comprises a DVD, CD, BLU-RAY® DISK , super audio CD, or hybrid disk optical drive. 21. The system of claim 11, wherein said robotic arm (1904) comprises a vacuum pickup feature. 22. The system of claim 11, wherein said robotic arm (1904) comprises an electromagnetic pickup feature. 23. The system of claim 11, wherein said robotic arm (1904) comprises an adhesive pickup feature. 24. The system of claim II, wherein said robotic ami (1904) comprises a mechanical pickup feature. 25. A system (200) for quantitative analysis of environmental parameters, said system comprising: a disk drive (202) for supporting and rotating an optical disk (204), said optical disk having a data track with at least one sensor region (205) disposed thereon; means for exposing said sensor region to at least one said environmental parameter; *" a light source (208) for directing light onto said optical disk (204), allowing said directed light to interact with said at least one sensor region (205); an optical detector (210) for detecting said interacted light and for generating a corresponding signal indicative of a measurable property of said interacted light; an analog-to-.digital converter (220) for quantifying said signal from said optical detector (210); recording means for recording data about a state of said quantified signal; reference means for correlating said data to a condition of said at least one sensor region; signal processing means for improving precision of said quantified signal; display means for displaying said data; and positioning means for moving said light source and said optical detector along said '.** data track of said optical disk. 26. The system (200) as recited in claim 25, wherein said positioning means includes means for locating said at least one sensor region relative to said data track, and means for moving (212) said light source (208) and said optical detector (210) to specified positions of said data track where said at least one sensor region (205) is located, and means for rotating said disk (204) a plurality of revolutions at each said specified position so as to record a plurality of data streams at each said specified position, and wherein said signal processing means includes means for averaging said plurality of data streams so as to display an average waveform and increase a signal-to-noise ratio of said signal. 27. The system (200) as recited in claim 26, wherein said recording means includes means for recording data about an elapsed time after said sensor region has been exposed to said environmental parameter, and wherein said display means includes means for displaying said data as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional data array, plotting a sequence of said data on a graph, displaying said data as a two- dimensional or three-dimensional intensity map, and combinations thereof. 28. The system as recited in claim 27, said system further comprising means for changing a sampling rate of said analog-to-digital converter (220).based on a rotating speed of said optical disk (204). 29. The system (200) as recited in claim 28, wherein said measurable property is intensity, phase, polarization angle, or wavelength of said interacted light. 30. In a system (200) including a disk drive (202) for supporting and rotating an optical disk (204), a light source (208) for directing light onto said optical disk, an optical detector (210) for measuring light reflected from said optical disk, a method for the optical analysis of at least one sensor region (205) disposed on said optical disk, said method comprising the steps of: (a) moving said light source (208) and said optical detector (210) along a data track of said optical disk (204) so as to position said light source and said detector at specified positions of said data track where said at least one sensor region (205) is located; (b) directing light onto said optical disk, allowing said directed light to interact with a portion of said at least one sensor region; (c) detecting said interacted light; (d) generating a signal corresponding lo a measurable property of said interacted light; (e) quantifying said signal; {f) recording data about a state of said quantified signal; (g) correlating said data to a condition of said portion of said sensor region (205); (h) repeating steps (a) through (g) until all portions of said at least one sensor region have been interacted with said directed light; and (i) displaying said data. 31. The method as recited in claim 30, said method further comprising the steps of: exposing said at least one sensor region (205) to at least one environmental parameter; rotating said disk a plurality of revolutions at each said specified position so as to collect a plurality of data streams at each said specified position; processing said signal to improve a signal-to-noise ratio of said signal, wherein said plurality of data streams are averaged so as to display an average waveform of said signal; detecting a change in said detected light corresponding to a reaction of said at least one sensor region to said environmental parameter; and correlating said reaction to a condition of said environmental parameter to which said at least one sensor region (205) has been exposed. 32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein said recording step (f) includes recording data about an elapsed time after said sensor region has been exposed to said at least one environmental parameter, and wherein said displaying step (i) includes displaying said data as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional data array, plotting a sequence^f said data on a graph, displaying said data as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional signal map, and combinations thereof. 33. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein said quantifying step (e) includes sampling said signal at a predetermined sampling rate, and wherein said sampling rate changes based on a rotating speed of said optical disk (204).