John -
There are some issues with remote collection. We would have no control over the specific sampling location, but more importantly, the sample would have to be appropriately filtered at the point of collection so that death and decay of plankton does not ruin the sample in shipping.
I'm sure these things could be addressed, but we have to question if it is worth it for a control sample that we are not necassarily going to include in the final results.
There are some issues with remote collection. We would have no control over the specific sampling location, but more importantly, the sample would have to be appropriately filtered at the point of collection so that death and decay of plankton does not ruin the sample in shipping.
I'm sure these things could be addressed, but we have to question if it is worth it for a control sample that we are not necassarily going to include in the final results.