A pressure-retaining deep ocean sampler and transfer system for measurement of microbial activity in the deep sea

Abstract
A deep ocean sampler (DOS) has been developed for microbiological sampling and is capable of aseptically collecting 400-ml water samples from any depth in the world oceans. The instrument maintains samples under in situ pressure and temperature. A hyperbaric transfer system has also been developed, enabling transfer of sample volumes up to 150 ml, without decompression or dilution, to pressurized incubation chambers. Utilization of14C-glutamate (21 to 96μg/l) and14C-acetate (4.6μg/l) by microbial populations in undecompressed water samples from the N.W. Atlantic and the Cape and Angola Basins was recorded over incubation periods of 2 to 18 weeks. Rates of substrate utilization ranged from 1 to 38×10−2 μg/l/day.

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