MARINE SNOW CATCHER

OSIL’S Marine Snow Catcher is a device for collecting ‘marine snow’ in an undamaged form

The Marine Snow Catcher is a large volume water bottle that can be deployed to collect Marine Snow particles with the minimum of trauma.

The principle of this device relies on the rapidity with which marine snow particles sink when enclosed in still water. 100 litres of water are collected in a messenger operated PVC water bottle. Water transport through the device during descent is controlled through two large diameter terminal apertures constructed to reduce turbulence.

After recovery, the device remains upright on deck for two hours to allow the marine snow particles to sink to the bottom. The top 95 litres are then slowly drained through a tap. The bottom section of the water bottle, containing the remaining 5 litres of water and the marine snow, is then disconnected. This lower section can then be taken into the laboratory where the marine snow particles are photographed and removed from the flat bottom of the chamber with a wide-bore pipette. The bottom chamber has transparent sides though which spot lights can be directed to increase the visibility of the settled marine snow particles.