NUI Galway Cruise Stations 2009

113 sample stations including Underwater TV Camera, CTD, Zooplankton Net, Phytoplankton Net, Ring Net, Hand Net, Dip Net and Neuston Net taken on board the RV Celtic Voyager in June 2009 during Marine Institute/Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine sponsored survey undertaken by the Ryan Institute NUI Galway. 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). Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. Phytoplankton are the autotrophic components of the plankton community and a key factor of oceans, seas and freshwater basin ecosystems. The Neuston net design features a large, rectangular net frame and a relatively long net for sampling substantial water volumes. The net mouthy shape is useful for surface sampling of tar balls and other near surface to larval fish or delicate organisms. A Dip Net is a small fishing net with a long handle. A Ring Net is a fishing net somewhat resembling a purse seine used especially in the European herring fishery. A hand net, also called a scoop net or dip net, is a net or mesh basket held open by a hoop. It may or may not be on the end of a handle.