ON A recent trip to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, Feedback was surprised to see a Niskin bottle mounted as a trophy on the wall of the institution’s lobby.
A Niskin bottle is a device for collecting samples of ocean water at great depth. It consists of a metre-long section of hollow tubing with snap-shut lids at either end that can be cocked before use. Once the bottle has been lowered into the water, the lids are triggered remotely and snap shut, trapping a sample.
The “Niskin Cup” is awarded to the winner of the annual ice hockey game between Woods Hole and the…
