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During certain periods of the year, production of organic matter in the upper water column increases and more food reaches benthic creatures as nutrients sink from teh surface waters. At Barkley Canyon, influx of organic matter occurs during the Spring (April to May) and in the fall (August to October). The instruments at Barkley Canyon are able to monitor this ecosystem to monitor benthic ecosystems and measure environmental parameters (such as temperature, currents, salinity and light levels). Cameras can observe real-time responses of organisms including feeding behaviour and locomotion. The microbrial sensor package intends to compliment observations from other instruments installed at Barkley and POD 4 aimed to reveal the decomposition process occuring within the sediments. The microbial sensors were recovered from Barkley Canyon POD 4 in 2010.
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