Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) has introduced their new Multiple Corers – able to overcome the traditional difficulties associated with benthic sampling.
Traditional benthic samplers such as box corers must be deployed with sufficient momentum to ensure penetration of the seabed. This creates a bow wave that will disrupt the surface layer of the seabed before the corer is able to collect a full sample.
The Multiple Corers from Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) are able to overcome the traditional difficulties associated with benthic sampling and collect truly undisturbed sediment samples.
The multiple corers are landed on the seabed at slow speed which, in combination with the minimal footprint of the corer, prevents a bow wave from forming and driving away the delicate flocculant material that forms on the surface layer of the seabed.
The penetration speed is controlled by a hydrostatically damped piston & central weight system which enables up to 12 core tubes to be slowly driven into the seabed at a consistent rate.
The core tubes are automatically sealed top and bottom immediately on commencement of the recovery process (using a hydrostatic seal at the top, and a mechanical seal at the bottom), capturing a pristine sediment sample together with the overlying supernatant water, and allowing the corer and samples to be rapidly recovered to the vessel without compromising the integrity of the sample.
The transparent cast acrylic core tubes are removed individually and can be subsampled immediately or treated/preserved for later study.