A BOTTOM-LANDING WATER SAMPLING SYSTEM FOR THE BENTHIC BOUNDARY-LAYER

A novel water sampling device which enables vertical profiles of water samples to be obtained within the benthic boundary layer in shelf sea waters is described. A maximum of ten samples spread over 2 m immedia tely above the seabed can be obtained on each deployment. The design o f the sample bottles minimizes disturbance to particle aggregates and positive displacement sampling ensures that the samples are representa tive of the environment. Suspended-solids profiles sampled in the bent hic boundary layer over a 15-hour period at a station in the English C hannel are presented to demonstrate the utility of the system.