ES2377070B2 - OCEANOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT FOR THE COLLECTION OF SAMPLES OF PLANCTON APPLICABLE TO OCEANOGRAPHIC ROSETS. - Google Patents

Abstract

Oceanographic equipment for the collection of plankton samples applicable to oceanographic rosettes. The equipment comprises a housing, a plankton net and a collector. The housing protects the network, has an upper opening and a lower opening. The upper opening has a lid that can be opened or closed by a spring mechanism controlled by a tensioning cable. The housing has windows at the upper end and a fixed bottom cover with holes to allow water to drain. The plankton net is fixed both to the upper edge of the housing as well as to the lower fixed cover. The collector, whose function is to collect the filtered plankton, is fixed to the outer face of the lower fixed cover and has side windows for the evacuation of the filtered water. In case you want to obtain preserved samples, these windows will be located in the upper half of the collector.

Description

OCEANOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT FOR THE COLLECTION OF PLANCTON SAMPLES
APPLICABLE TO OCEANOGRAPHIC ROSETS.

SECTOR OF THE TECHNIQUE.

Technology and oceanographic instrumentation

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE PRIOR TO THE DATE OF PRESENTATION. There are currently three ways to obtain plankton samples of a given depth range: plankton networks with controlled opening and closing systems, oceanographic bottles and suction systems combined with plankton networks. Each of these techniques is chosen based on the size of the organisms that wish to be studied, their abundance and their density in the environment.

The use of plankton networks is aimed at sampling organisms belonging to larger fractions (greater than 200 microns), for which it is necessary to filter large volumes of water to obtain representative samples. For the collection of samples at certain depths, the simplest networks include opening and closing systems operated by messengers (a small weight that is sent from the surface and slides along the traction cable to the network). However, with this type of system it is difficult to know precisely the depth at which the network closes, since the cable that the trailer frequently describes a curved line during traction, complicating the calculations to estimate the real depth of the equipment. Other plankton networks, such as the MultiPlankton Sampler or the Longhurst-Hardy Plankton Recorder, use automated systems for opening and closing the networks, including depth sensors, thus ensuring the collection of plankton samples at a specific depth. But this type of equipment implies a robust, bulky and heavy design of the equipment, which makes its handling depend on the use of a vessel equipped with feathers or porches ad hoc V of personnel specialized in deck maneuvers.

On the other hand, sampling of organisms belonging to fractions smaller than 200 microns with plankton networks is rare, since the high sizes of the entrance openings of the V / networks or the drag speeds developed by the vessels used cause a rapid clogging of the networks giving rise to useless samples.

Whatever the case may be, the sampling methodology itself implies that the network must be taken to the sampling depth V and subsequently uploaded on board. When the depth of study is high, exceeding 1000 m, the long-haul times of plankton networks can cover several hours, when the truly effective sampling time implies few minutes.

Consequently, existing plankton networks are currently not viable for the collection of planktonic organisms belonging to small fractions (less than 200 microns) at high depths, since their management involves a high cost in terms of material, human infrastructure V times of execution.

A current alternative to the use of plankton networks could be the use of oceanographic bottles (such as Pat. NQ 5,094,113 -US). The use of these bottles, when embedded in oceanographic rosettes, reduces the maneuver times V to zero the additional personnel involved, since samples directed to planktonic studies are collected at the same time as other tasks are performed as profiles for measurements of physical variables -chemistry V collection of water samples for measurement of other biological variables.

Claims (6)

one.

Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, comprising a single dedicated structure: -A housing that allows the anchoring of the sample collection equipment in other oceanographic equipment, channels and regulates the flow of water to be filtered and It gives protection to the plankton net, and has windows at the top end that allow the rapid evacuation of water during the descent of the equipment. -A plankton network, of variable micrometer according to the fraction interested in being sampled. -A collector where the directly conserved plankton sample accumulates, allows its rapid extraction and washing, and presents side windows for water evacuation with a length less than 50% of the total length of the collector, located in the upper half, remaining bottom of the manifold as a receptacle for liquids.

2.

Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing has at its lower end a fixed cover in which the lower end of the plankton net is secured (on the inside) and the collector (on the outside).

3.

Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the lower cover of the housing has water evacuation holes.

Four.

Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that both the upper and lower cover of the housing are easily

5 removable to change the type of network that houses inside. 5. Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, according to claim 1, characterized in that the design of the collector allows its filling of a fixing solution. 6. Oceanographic equipment for the collection of samples of plankton applicable to oceanographic rosettes, according to claims 1 and S, characterized in that in case it is not necessary to obtain a conserved sample the evacuation windows may have a length greater than that mentioned in the Claim 1, ensuring better evacuation of filtered water.