MacArtney Supplies Fully Integrated Clean Lab Solutions to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research

In line with India's growing focus on deep-sea science and infrastructure, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has deployed a fully integrated clean lab, winch, and CTD system supplied by MacArtney. The solution enables high-precision data acquisition while preserving sample integrity to support marine science ambitions.

Ensuring clean sampling conditions is essential for obtaining reliable water data that supports research into the seafloor, deep-ocean chemistry, and the dynamics of our marine environment. However, operating in deep-sea conditions presents inherent challenges, from extreme pressure to the risk of introducing trace contamination during collection and handling.

MacArtney’s all-in-one clean lab solution addresses these challenges by providing a controlled environment for handling and analyzing water samples collected at depth, ensuring data integrity and enhancing the reliability of scientific findings. 

The solution's core is a 20-foot clean lab container, purpose-built to maintain sample integrity during deep-sea research operations. The controlled environment eliminates metal contamination and environmental interference, which can compromise trace element analysis and sensitive chemical readings.

Complementing the clean lab is a containerized MERMAC winch system with 8,000 meters of clean CTD cable and a Sea-Bird Scientific SBE 32 24-bottle carousel water sampler with high-precision CTD sensors (conductivity, temperature, depth). The cable is flushed with freshwater before re-spooling to prevent salt and metal contamination and is fitted with a TrustLink stress termination to ensure secure, reliable load transfer.

Together, the system supports ultra-clean data acquisition and enables NCPOR to conduct full-depth CTD casts with confidence in the quality and consistency of their results.

The clean lab container was manufactured in cooperation with EMS, a long-standing MacArtney distributor in Spain. EMS is known for its expertise in customized systems and familiarity with Sea-Bird Scientific instrumentation. In India, MacArtney’s local distributor, Ms Deekay Marine Services, supports commissioning and service of the Sea-Bird Scientific equipment, ensuring responsive, on-site technical support throughout the system’s lifecycle.