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The Clapper

A crew member on the research vessel Kilo Moana assists in the deployment of a “clap-trap” mooring during the summer 2004 Vertical Transport In the Global Ocean (VERTIGO) project off Hawaii. The clap traps are sediment trap moorings designed to collect sinking particles with simple collection tubes suspended in the ocean at 150, 300, and 500 meters. They are so named because most upper ocean traps are open tubes of some design, but the traps used by Ken Buesseler and colleagues “clap” shut when the 3-5 day mission is over. (Photo by Science staff, R/V Kilo Moana)