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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

Minimal disturbance to sediments
Simple to operate
Greater sample volume
Can sample overlying water with sediment

Not designed to sample living organisms
Heavy to transport/deploy


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)

Last updated: March 8, 2006