Mesozooplankton average mass during Professor Vodyanitskiy cruise PV18, Part I

Mesozooplankton was sampled by open-closing JUDAY net with a 36 cm ring diameter and mesh size of 125 µm. The open-closing mechanism used was the Nansen mechanical lock system allowing nets to be vertically towed through depths with the temperature gradient maximum (from 10-40 down to 50-100 m) and closed at the upper depth level. Integrated hauls (0-100 m) were also taken. Depth of tow was evaluated by wire paid out and the angle of wire inclination. The 10-20 ml samples were preserved in 3-4% buffered formaldehyde and processed on return to the laboratory. All of copepods were identified to genus level, other taxanomic groups - to type, class, order and family levels.