Box Corer
General Information
This is one of the simplest and most commonly used sediment corers. The stainless steel sampling box can contain a surface sediment block as large as 50cm X 50cm X 75cm with negligible disturbance. Once the sediment is recovered onboard, the sediment box can be detached from the frame and taken to a laboratory for subsampling and further analysis.
How It Works
The core sample size is controlled by the speed at which the corer is lowered into the ocean bottom. When the bottom is firm, a higher speed is required to obtain a complete sample. A depth pinger or other depth indicator is generally used to determine when the box is completely filled with sediment. Once the core box is filled with sediment, the sample is secured by moving the spade-closing lever arm to lower the cutting edge of the spade into the sediment, until the spade completely covers the bottom of the sediment box.
Technical Information
Advantages:
Minimal disturbance to sediments
Simple to operate
Greater sample volume
Can sample overlying water with sediment
Disadvantages:
Not designed to sample living organisms
Heavy to transport/deploy
Manufacturers
Ocean Instruments
KC Denmark
Deployment Gear/Constraints
Heavy gauge winch wire
Large boat size required for deployment
Extra wires/workers to lift and deploy
Depth pinger (optional)