PRPOOS Net Tow

The PRPOOS Net is towed vertically through the water column to collect plankton samples from the euphotic zone.

The PRPOOS (Planktonic Rate Processes in Oligotrophic Ocean Systems) Net, formerly known as the Soutar-Hemingway Animal Trap or “SHAT” (Kramer 1972), is a vertical tow to collect data for the LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) project. 

The PRPOOS Net consists of a 50 cm diameter single frame opening attached to a 202 µm mesh net that is 3 m in length. The PRPOOS net is deployed to 210 m with a descent rate of 40 m/min, held at depth for 20 sec, and then retrieved vertically at a rate of 50 m/min.

The sample is preserved in formaldehyde and back on land, the samples are sorted for zooplankton and archived at the SIO Pelagic Invertebrate Collection.

PRPOOS Net tows are performed at all stations on lines 90.0 and 80.0, as well as stations out to and including station 70.0 on lines 86.7 and 83.3 (weather permitting), except for 20 m SCCOOS stations.