On September 8-9, during the same dive when we installed the Barkley Canyon seismometer, we also installed Barkley benthic pod 2 and its accompanying sediment trap to a seafloor location nearby our Vertical Profiler System and our Barkley Slope instrument platform. All of these are located at a depth of approximately 400m in a location near the transition from continental shelf to continental slope. Additional platforms and instruments are located several kilometers away in various parts of Barkley Canyon.

Barkley benthic pod 2 is 'daisy chained' to the Barkley Slope instrument platform, which was installed on 4 August 2009. The Barkley Slope instrument platform, in turn, is connected via the northern Barkley extension to Barkley node.

Our installed constellation at the Barkley Slope location now includes:

This instrument platform is one of 4 "benthic pods" slated for our Barkley location. The first was installed in the axis of Barkley Canyon on 2 September. Two more will be positioned in the middle reach of the canyon. Together, these four platforms will create a transect extending from the relatively shallow (400m) edge of the continental shelf down through the canyon to its base at nearly 1000m.

Deep-sea ecosystems are the largest and among the most species-rich habitats on Earth, but are also among the least sampled. This new set of instrument platforms will give researchers unprecedented quality and volumes to information on the deep ocean, significantly advancing our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems. Learn more.

The Platform and Instruments
Barkley benthic pod 2 prior to deployment. The three lead weights were later used to stabilize the sediment trap.	The camera side of Barkley benthic pod 2. The camera will be used to study benthic ecology below and next to the instrument platform.	Low-light black and white video camera with LED lights and lasers, 9 September 2009. This camera is mounted on the base of Barkley benthic pod 2 and will be controllable via the Internet.
Connection hose that links this instrument platform to the Barkley slope instrument platform.	Sediment trap for Barkley benthic pod 2. The yellow collection cone funnels sediment and detritus falling through the water into the small collection bottles below.	Sediment trap collection bottle array. Sediment falls into one bottle at a time. Scientists will be able to control it via the Internet, signalling when to advance to the next bottle.

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Preparations
Dalhousie University oceanographer Doug Schillinger and NEPTUNE Canada contractor Jason Williams adjust rigging on Barkley benthic pod 2 prior to deployment, 9 September 2009.	Dalhousie University oceanographer Richard Cheel, 8 September 2009.	ROPOS, with Barkley benthic pod 2 and sediment trap attached, is lifted by crane into posiiton for deployment, 8 September 2009.
Dalhousie University oceanographers Richard Cheel and Doug Schillinger consult with NEPTUNE Canada contractor Jason Williams on rigging for the Barkley benthic pod 2 sediment trap, 8 September 2009.	Royal Roads University M.A. candidate Natalie Bowes shares a laugh with ROPOS navigator Jim Illman, 8 September 2009.

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Deployment
ROPOS collects push-core sediment samples, 9 September 2009.	ROPOS unfastens rigging securing the sediment trap to its transport shelf on Barkley benthic pod 2, 9 September 2009.	A squid investigates ROPOS and Barkley benthic pod 2 after deployment to the seafloor, 8 September 2009.
Overhead view of Barkley benthic pod 2 after deployment to the seafloor, 9 September 2009.	Sediment trap connected to Barkley benthic pod 2 on the seafloor, 9 September 2009.	ROPOS places a measuring stick below Barkley benthic pod 2, 9 September 2009.
Local rockfish seem eager to take advantage of this new feature in the landscape.	Like a Jedi knight holding a light sabre, ROPOS holds a measuring stick during installation of Barkley benthic pod 2, 9 September 2009.

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