MICROLAYER COLLECTION FROM THE SEA SURFACE: A NEW METHOD AND INITIAL RESULTS1

Abstract

A newly constructed collecting device can remove large quantities of a thin layer (approximately 60 µ thick) from the sea surface. Samples obtained by means of this collector indicate larger amounts of organic materials in the thin surface layer of the sea than in the water at a depth of 10 cm. These organic materials include living nannoplankton organisms, structural components of disintegrated organisms, surface‐active substances, chlorophyll, and carotenoid pigments.