Regarding the Improvement of Sedimentation Traps Design to Increase the Efficiency of Suspended Matter Sampling

The authors, as part of the realization of scientific projects, methodically substantiated, created and implemented systems for monitoring sediment flows in river and sea basins based on a complex of field equipment for sampling suspended matter from the aquatic environment. In particular, sedimentation traps (cylinders for accumulating particles settling in the water layer) were used to observe the distribution of suspended matter. Experimental studies on the improvement and simultaneous simplification of structures and elements of field equipment for studies of suspended matter in rivers and seas water areas allowed proposing a new design of sedimentation cylinders. The publication considers the possibilities and advantages of using sedimentation traps with a removable sampler, which is simultaneously used as a container for transporting the sample for further laboratory research. It is suggested to use a standard glass jar with a capacity of 0.5 l, the versatility and low cost of which are prerequisites for successful use. The main advantage of this option is the maximally approximate parameters of the jar for use as a liner in a plastic sedimentation cup made of standard Ostendorf polypropylene sewer pipes with a diameter of 90 mm with a socket connection system. Light, compact and inexpensive variants of sedimentation cylinders are proposed, which meet the requirements of complex studies of the sedimentary substrate in the conditions of various water areas with a significant range of depths. Field tests of experimental structures have previously proven their efficiency and ease of use. Ease of assembly and disassembly, small weight, and low manufacturing and operating costs will allow the trap to be widely used for further research. In the future, this will be followed by a study of the qualitative composition of the marine suspension, quantitative characteristics of its temporal and spatial distribution, questions of the formation of the organic component of suspended matter to assess the seasonality of development and planar distribution of producers in the photic zone, their species composition and quantitative characteristics. The possibility of using a glass sampler also allows sampling for the determination of a wide range of pollutants (heavy metals, pesticides, oil products and organic substances, microplastics) in the suspension.