Bottle samplers

FIGURE 1.5 A hand-held open-mouth bottle sampler. (Based on Lane et al. 2003. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations. Book 9, Chapter A2. Available at http //pubs.water.usgs.gov/ twri9A2/ (accessed March 20, 2003).)... 

For taking small samples close to the bank of a water body, a held-hand open-mouth bottle sampler can be used, provided that the depth and the water velocity are smaller than the minimum for... 

Hiac ABS-2 automatic bottle sampler is a pressure sampling device used for batch analysis of volatile or viscous fluids. The ABS-2 delivers liquid to the sensor at flow rates of 10 to 200 ml min T A check valve in the sample introduction line eliminates backflow and minimizes sample cross contamination, and an automatic drain mechanism allows unattended sample analysis of multiple runs. The sampler has a built-in pressure/vacuum chamber that subjects samples to pressures up to 60 psi, accommodating viscosities up to 80 centistokes. In addition, vacuum levels of 23 psi are used to degas samples which contain entrained air. 

Another problem is the lack of representation of rarer particles in the volumes which can be sampled. In the course of some twenty years of work on particulate matter, I have examined thousands of filters under the microscope I have yet to see my first foraminiferal test from samples taken below the surface layer, even in regions where the sediment was greater than 80% calcium carbonate. To relate what is happening at the sea surface to what has resulted at the sea floor, very much greater volumes of water must be sampled than is practical with water bottle samplers. This, of course, is what the in situ pumps were designed for in the first place, and what they do very well. The pumps give us a snapshot of what is in the water column at a particular time. With the newer pumps, which can be deployed at a series of depths simultaneously, the losses due to solution, remineraHzation, or predation in the distances between pump depths can be estimated, after some aUowances have been made for the differences in background particulate burden in different water masses. What cannot be obtained from the pumps is any measurement of rate. 

Bottle samplers (e.g., Niskin, Nansen, Go-Flo, etc.) allow the collection of discrete water samples (0.5-30 L), whereas the acquisition of large volumes (100-1000 L) or a continuous... 

This experiment describes the construction of an air sampler using an aquarium pump, a flow meter, a filter holder, and bottles that serve as traps for analytes. Applications include the determinations of SO2, NO2, HCHO, and suspended particulate matter. 

The third, and largely unexpected, case appeared as a problem in the analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in seawater [24]. In this case, petroleum hydrocarbons, picked up presumably in the surface layers or surface film, were carried down by the sampling bottles and were measured as par t of the pollutant load of the deeper waters. While the possibility of absorption and subsequent release is obviously most acute with hydrophobic compounds and plastic samplers, it does raise a question as to whether any form of sampler which is open on its passage through the water column can be used for the collection of surface-active materials. The effects of such transfer of material maybe unimportant in the analysis of total organic carbon, but could be a major factor in the analysis of single compounds or classes of compounds. 

For the pumping system, seawater was pumped up from 9 m and collected in the appropriate bottles on the raft and returned to the shore clean laboratory for preservation and/or analysis. For the other four sampling devices, the sampler was lowered to 9 m, allowed to equilibrate for 10 min, closed by triggering mechanism activated by the Teflon messenger, raised to the surface, transferred into the container, transported back by boat and trucked back... 

The mercury values obtained by the Teflon-piston sampler were high at 0.21 0.2 nmol/kg due to malfunction with incomplete filling and previous contamination, as indicated by the very low salinity in this set. The values inside the bag were higher than those outside, measured about one month after intercomparison to be 0.02,0.03, and 0.04 nmol/kg. There was a subsampling problem. The first and second draw of the sampling bottle usually showed a very wide spread of values, as much as 0.07 nmol/kg, e.g., between 0.05 and... 

Consequently, for an accurate quantification of surfactants in the water column, sampling must be performed by taking surface microlayer samples (at depths between 0 and 3—5 mm), using a surface sampler, and at various greater depths with Ruttner or similar bottles. 

What is the cost of the sampler itself and also the cost of consumable parts (i.e., syringes, bottles, caps, etc. )... 

In our study, contact of the anoxic samples with oxygen was avoided. The samples were transferred from the samplers (Go-Flo, General Oceanics, 5 L) into bottles equipped with three-way taps under N2 pressure. The bottles had previously been flushed with N2, and they were completely filled. Filtration in the laboratory with acid-cleaned 0.45- xm cellulose nitrate filters (Sartorius) and a polycarbonate filtration unit (Sartorius) was also carried out under nitrogen gas. Most analytical determinations were performed in the laboratory on the sampling day. 

With very viscous or semi-solid liquids such as syrups, molasses and massecuite, the sample is taken by means of a cylindrical metal sampler in such a way that proportionate amounts are taken at different depths. With very dense products which may have crystallised sugar at the bottom, it is especially necessary to reach with the sampler the very bottom of the vessel. Several samples are withdrawn and mixed and the sample or samples for analysis (about 200 grams each) then stored in glass bottles with ground stoppers. 

Deep water sampling procedures are similar to those for surface water sampling, the difference is in the sample delivery method. There are several types of discrete depth liquid samplers available today to perform this task, such as glass weighted bottles, Wheaton bottles, Kemmerer samplers, or electrical pumps. 

FIGURE 1.11 Basic components of an automatic sampler 1—sample intake 2—sample transport tube 3—pump controller and 4—sample bottles. (Based on Dick, M.E. 1996. In L.H. Keith (ed.), Principles of Environmental Sampling, 2nd edition, pp. 237-258. American Chemical Society and Dick, E.M. 1994. In B. Markert (ed.), Environmental Sampling for Trace Analysis, pp. 255-278. VCH.)... 

For the inorganic ions in precipitation, the precipitation volume of the daily (or weekly) samples is measured either by weight or by volume, after which an aliquot is transferred to a sample storage and transport bottle. To a large extent, the sampling of heavy metals follows the same procedures as for the main components in the precipitation, but because of the sensitivity of heavy metal samples to contamination, extra precautions need to be taken. The precipitation volume in mm is calculated from the weight of the water and its density, and the sampler is shipped to the laboratory without transferring any sample to smaller transport bottles. 

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