This award to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts provides support for the development of improved sampling devices for recovering multiple, fragile biological and geological samples from the sea floor using submeribles and remotely operated vehicles. These suction samplers will allow intact recovery of an array of biological, bacterial and geological material in uncontaminated tubes, and using a carousel system with interchangeable samplers, it will be possible to obtain numerous samples during a single dive or deployment. The tools will become part of the standard array of instruments available to users of the National Deep Submergence Facility at WHOI, and they are expected to be of substantial advantage to scientists using the NDSF facility in their deep-sea research during 2005 and future years. ***
