The University of Hull have completed its annual charter of the Humber Guardian for marine science and oceanographic training.
Undergraduate students in Marine Biology learn water sampling and laboratory methods in the early part of the year, then go to sea to put their skills into practice.
The methods and instruments are based on those used routinely by the Environment Agency as part of the UK’s coastal water quality monitoring. This year, a total of 55 students took part in the Humber Guardian surveys over a period of 7 days.
CTD casts, plankton tows and Niskin bottle samples were taken along a salinity gradient from the Humber Bridge to 5 miles out in the North Sea. With continuous northerly winds, and at times challenging conditions, the surveys have provided a very valuable experience for the students - and gave a complete new set of skills from survey design, to sample collection, data quality control and reporting.
