Water Sampling at the Bottom of the World

-

 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!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Experiences At Rothera

-
Image
 I have been at Rothera for just over a month now and I certainly feel as if this is my home. It is quite wonderful just how quickly a new place and lifestyle can become your new world!  I'll start from my arrival. I vividly remember our final day on the JCR as our team stood on monkey island and Rothera station came into sight. We excitedly watched as the wharf came closer and closer and orange blobs emerged. The current wintering team had positioned themselves around our landing point and were waving us in. I felt a mixture of emotions; sorrow as an epic journey and life at sea was coming to an end but overwhelmingly excited to take my first steps on Antarctic 'soil' (anything below 66.33 °  S is officially considered to be true Antarctica).   Finally, we were arriving at our home for the next 15 months!  Ryan, the Marine Assistant, and I leapt off the ship and excitedly bounded up the path to the main building: New Bransfield House. ...
Read more

Station Life

-
Image
Since writing my last post, a wonderfully active and intense summer season has ensued. Living on a research station with your colleagues is certainly a unique experience; the days are vibrant and there is always an activity going on. Contrary to what I thought life might be like in Antarctica, I seem to experience FOMO (fear of missing out) more than anything! First, the most frequent activity of the day is, of course, meal times. This is a fantastic opportunity for all walks of station life to come together and share their daily experiences. I continue to be astonished by the array of food that the kitchen produces. Falafels, polenta, courgette, banana curry, luxury ciabatta sandwiches, pain au raisins and melon.... the flavours are constantly bursting and the food choice changes daily, we are certainly spoilt! At the peak of the summer season, there were roughly 110 people on base (depending on who was out in the field), with only three chefs who   altern...
Read more

Ahoy! South Georgia

-
Image
 Welcome back! It's been a while.  I bring you this blog from the South Atlantic, soon to be the Southern Ocean, as I am being violently rolled around on the South Georgia Fisheries Patrol Vessel, MV Pharos. MV Pharos Photo credit: Louis Day I was asked before I accepted the temporary position of a Marine Biologist at King Edward Point Research Station, South Georgia, if I get seasick- to which I confidently replied 'no'. However, this is a different story. The Pharos is a flat bottomed boat, one that rolls under any circumstance, flat or calm. The crew tell me she was made in Scotland with the specific purpose of working inshore, getting 'beached', loaded with cargo and then would float out to sea when the tide was high again. Something she was absolutely not made for was seagoing expeditions across the rolling South Atlantic and Southern Ocean northernmost boundary! I do not like spending more time than necessary vertical so this is a new challenge to me. However,...
Read more