Dataset: Palmer Station Sediment Trap

Data comes from VERTEX-style, bottom-tethered (moored) sediment trap deployments.  Particle interceptor tubes were deployed on cross-pieces with 4 tubes attached at a depth of 50 m.  Tubes were deployed with a dense formaldehyde brine created by adding NaCl and formaldehyde to filtered seawater.  After recovery, overlying seawater was removed from each tube by gentle suction.  Tubes were then gravity filtered through a 200-micron nitex mesh filter, and the 200-micron filters were carefully analyzed under a stereomicroscope and all metazoan zooplankton “swimmers” were removed from the sample.  Filtrate and remaining material on the 200-micron filter were then each filtered through separate pre-combusted quartz (QMA) filter.  Samples were then dried, mounted in RISO planchets and counted on a RISO low-level beta multi-counter.  After subsequent background counts, samples were acidified to remove calcium carbonate and analyzed for carbon and nitrogen on an elemental analyzer.