Continuous plankton recorder, built 1966, Edinburgh

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Hydrological equipment
Place: Antarctica
Materials: Metal - non specific
Collection: National Antarctic Heritage collection
Accession number: 2024.0001.0470

Description

Continuous plankton recorder with the numbers '122' mounted on the front and '122/2' engraved on a plaque on one side. The main body of the recorder is made from a rectangular metal box which has been shaped into a pyramid at one end. Attached to the other end is silver metal sheeting which acts in part as a housing for the propeller which is mounted to the top of the box. On one long side is a hinged door with an oval shaped protusions. On the opposite side, parts of the interior can be seen behind a silver metal plate.

This plankton recorder was used by marine biologists in Antarctica. The instrument was designed in 1933 by Sir Alistair Hardy and this model was built in Edinburgh in 1966. It is towed behind a vessel and the plankton are drawn into, then preserved inside the recorder. Each tow provides 850km of continuous record which provides great data on ocean health, as plankton are very sensitive to environmental change.

About the collection

This collection comprises approximately 600 objects acquired by the Australian Antarctic Division and its predecessors between the 1940s and 2010s. It includes scientific and communication equipment, navigation and cartographic equipment, specimens, commemorative objects, building fabric, field support vehicles, clothing and field work supplies relating to Australia’s long and distinguished tradition of research and exploration within the Antarctic region. These objects are the largest and most diverse assemblage of surviving material culture demonstrating Australia’s relationship with the subantarctic islands and Antarctic continent between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. The collection offers remarkable natural and historical significance, notably nineteenth century commercial activities and the early twentieth century expeditions of Sir Douglas Mawson and other explorers that expanded scientific knowledge and laid the foundation for Australia’s enduring presence in the region. From the 1940s, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions undertook major exploratory and scientific work to understand and protect the Antarctic landscape. Australia took a leading role in the International Geophysical Year and the negotiation of a comprehensive environmental protection regime for Antarctica with the establishment of the Antarctic Treaty System from 1959. It records how the Australian Antarctic Division continues to manage Australia’s interests in the Antarctic region, overseeing world-leading research at three permanent continental research stations - Mawson, Casey and Davis - and at subantarctic Macquarie Island.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 4:58:35 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2026-10-14. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.