Coral reef pH and CO2 levels can change drastically from day to night, making collection at both ends of the day important for studying ocean acidification. Night sampling is often difficult from a boat in a shallow coral reef, but the Remote Access Sampler (RAS) provides a solution for WHOI postdoctoral researcher Katie Shamberger, making sampling possible even in the dark. Shamberger’s research includes coral reef sampling with a RAS in Palau to see how water chemistry and biological processes on a coral reef change throughout the day and night.
The RAS is a deep water or coastal time series water sampler that collects samples for biological, dissolved major and minor nutrient, dissolved trace metal, or dissolved organic carbon analyses. The RAS sampler collects ambient water and suspended material in Tedlar® bags, isolating the samples for subsequent laboratory analysis. The RAS-500 collects 48 samples of 500ml each and the RAS-100 collects 48 samples of 100ml each, following a user defined sampling schedule. RAS systems can optionally be fitted with in-line pre-filters and an external temperature sensor. Deployment data with a report of sample event conditions is stored to non-volatile EEPROM.
For more information on McLane RAS, contact us.
