I am a Marine Biologist working with the British Antarctic Survey based at Rothera Research Station. This is mostly a blog about, of course, Antarctica but also station life, the people that keep it running and the research that we conduct.

Water Sampling at the Bottom of the World

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 In addition to Biological sampling, The Bonner Laboratory also runs a water sampling programme. The Rothera Time series, RaTs, has been running since 1997, collecting regular oceanographic measurements with the aim to detect changes in ocean chemistry.



Ryan Mathews, 2021 marine assistant dedicated to religiously sampling the water column

Using a CTD (Conductivity, temperature and depth) this instrument permits a 500 m profile of the ocean to be sampled twice a week during the Southern Hemisphere Summer and once a week during the Winter.


And how is 500 m of water column sampled? By hand winching! Good for the biceps!



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