Gravity core sub--sampling preparation

 Gravity core sub-sampling preparation (24.04.14)

Tomorrow, we will be in the 1st station. We need to get ready when the gravity core will be retrieved on board. Our sediment core sub-sampling consists in two steps: collection of pore water using rhizons and  then sampling solid phase (mud) with syringes. Yesterday our goal was to label all types of tubes, syringes and bags that we need for the different planned analyses !!! With the hands of 7 people, we have never been so quick. 

Labeling  thousand syringes :)

Pore water:

Colorful tubes, one color for each analysis.

Above are the different tubes that we will fill tomorrow with pore water. The white tubes (excetainers) will be used to collect pore water from the rhizons. Then the pore water will be distributed for different analyses. The different colors correspond to a specific geochemical pore water analysis (for example: pink is cations, yellow is sulfide, blue is sulfate, etc..). Each tube has a number (1 to 100), corresponding to a precise depth, where the pore water will be extracted from sediment cores (the number 1 is the 1^stpore-water sample extracted from the bottom of the 1^st core). Don't worry everything will be more clear in the next post !

Solid phase

Marta and Julie, very concentrated and cautious about numbers...

Pre-cutted syringes, which the top has been removed, will be used to sub-sample solid phase from the sediment cores. Here, the students are labelling those modified sterile syringes, from 1 to 100 also. They wear vinyl gloves to avoid contaminating the sterile syringes with microorganisms, or amino acids from their skin. The different planned analyses need either 2.5, 5 or 10 mL of sediment. 

Now it is time to get some sleep. I think everyone is in the arms of Morpheus since a while because we had a great and successful but tiring day with two gravity cores on board !!!!