Nansen bottle

Nansen bottle

[′nan·sən ‚bäd·əl]

(engineering)

A bottlelike water-sampling device with valves at both ends that is lowered into the water by wire; at the desired depth it is activated by a messenger which strikes the reversing mechanism and inverts the bottle, closing the valves and trapping the water sample inside. Also known as Petterson-Nansen water bottle; reversing water bottle.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.