An apparatus for obtaining water from different depths for bacteriological examination

Abstract

The study of the bacteria of natural waters is dependent on a simple and effective sampling technique. Any routine sampling procedure designed to obtain a vertical series of samples at one station must not only exclude any possibility of contamination of the sampling vessel and its contents while it is lowered to, and raised from, the depth at which the sample is taken, but must also be capable of straightforward operation on a boat or ship under rough conditions. The sampling vessels should be of a standard, interchangeable and robust pattern, and their preparation and sterilization should be a matter of simple routine. It should be possible to use them repeatedly and they should be of sufficient capacity to permit physical and chemical as well as a bacteriological examination of the sample.