“Laboratory Techniques for the Handling and Geochemical Analysis of Water Column Particulate and Surface Sediment Samples.” Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Technical Report No. 92-9, March 1992.
Pilskaln, Cynthia H. and Jennifer B. Paduan.
I .GENERAL SAMPLE HANDLING
Contamination of samples by carbon and silica must be avoided during all phases of collection, analysis and storage.
- Wear powder-free gloves.
- Clean all glass and plastic lab ware well: Soak in hot water with laboratory detergent. Rub gently to remove to any dried material. Rinse well with tap and deionized (R.O). water, then with Nanopure (Barnstead) water three times. Air dry. Store protected from dust.
- Combust glass storage vials and glassware for carbon analyses at 500°C for at least 2 hours Wash and rinse storage vial caps as in Step 2, dry in a 60°C oven and store in a desiccator.
- Clean filter towers and frits between samples during a filtration series: Draw dilute detergent solution followed by Nanopure water down through filter frits. Wash filter towers with detergent and rinse with tap, R.O. and Nanopure water, as in Step 2.
- Dry samples in a 60°C oven for several hours or overnight. Avoid contamination from volatile organics. Desiccate for about four hours before weighing, and store, covered, desiccator.
- Clean forceps with denatured ethanol on Kim-wipe between samples. Allow ethanol to evaporate before handling samples.
