NUI Galway Cruise Stations 2011

19 sample stations including CTD, Plankton Net, Boxcore and ROV taken on board the RV Celtic Explorer in April 2011 during the Biodiscovery and deep ocean ecosystems survey. A large instrument package called a CTD is the standard workhorse of oceanographers for acquiring water column profiles. It is called a CTD because as a minimum it measures electrical Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (pressure). The plankton net is a funnel-shaped, fine-meshed net that is towed through the water. The net concentrates the plankton from hundreds of gallons of water that pass through it. A simple net can be constructed to capture microscopic plankton. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is an unoccupied underwater robot that is connected to a ship by a series of cables. These cables transmit command and control signals between the operator and the ROV, allowing remote navigation of the vehicle.