Trace metal water column samples collected on the SIPEX II voyage of the Aurora Australis

Care was taken to avoid any contamination from the ship and the operating personnel. Water samplers were processed aboard under an ISO class 5 trace-metal-clean laminar flow bench in to a trace-metal-clean laboratory container on the ship's trawl deck. All transfer tubes, filtering devices and sample containers were rinsed liberally with sample before final collection.

Samples were then drawn through C-Flex tubing (Cole Parmer) and filtered in-line through 0.2 micron pore-size acid-washed capsules (Pall Supor membrane, Acropak 200). Filtered and unfiltered samples were collected in acid-cleaned 125ml Nalgene LDPE bottles for analysis of dissolved trace metals. Samples were also collected for the determination of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon.

As well, filtered samples were taken for macro-nutrient analysis in the lab (2 small vials per Niskin, frozen). Regular sampling depths were as follows: 1000m, 750m, 500m, 300m, 200m, 150m, 125m, 100m, 75m, 50m, 30m, 15m. At a subset of the SIPEX II ice stations, filtered samples were also collected for Iron(II) analysis aboard the ship by Christina Schallenberg (in the trace-metal-clean laboratory container), and unfiltered samples were collected for analysis of mercury and methyl-mercury by Caitlin Gionfriddo (caitlingio@gmail.com).