The pool

The deep test pool at McLane
 "You haven't seen our pool before, have you?" Tim asked. Clad in a hard hat and steel-toe shoes, he had just moved a crane to lift a 60-kg pump into the water. The pump hung suspended just below the surface, while a rubber duck floated alongside. I peered over the edge, expecting to find the bottom just below the pump's frame - but I didn't. It was 50 m below, down a long, clear column. 

A few minutes passed, and the pump came to life, sucking water through an inlet at 30 L per minute. The small plastic ball that normally blocks the inlet disappeared into its chamber, and small bubbles revealed the level of turbulence. I was excited to see this evidence of the pump working - since I had set it up. 

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to visit McLane Research Labs in Falmouth, MA and get trained on a new piece of equipment: high-volume underwater pumps. WHOI scientists, including my old postdoc lab, have used McLane pumps to collect larvae from deep-sea environments over the last two decades. They're effective, relatively simple tools that allow researchers to collect samples from remote environments. As I establish my own lab, I can leverage this institutional resource for my own objectives.

Over the course of two hours, one of the McLane engineers gave me a comprehensive tour of the pumps: changing the batteries, sealing the housing, communicating with the software, assembling the filter. I feel confident handling them on my own now. I'm grateful for the time Tim dedicated to helping me and look forward to using new equipment in my research. 

Comments

  1. Utterly fascinating. Unless I'm reading this wrong, the batteries for acoustic ropes tech now being advocated to remove synthetic vertical and endlines to save whales, should be as easy to change!

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