OSIL Supply US Antarctic Program with Multi Corer

Global seabed sampling experts Ocean Scientific International Ltd delivered a 12-station Multiple Corer to Colorado-based ASC, the support contractor to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), for use in Antarctic waters.

The corer will be deployed by upcoming projects in the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, a joint project of the U.K.’s Natural Environment Research Council and NSF’s Office of Polar Programs, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program.

The corer will be used to investigate the role of the Southern Ocean biological pump in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide, and to determine the sediment-water fluxes of dissolved compounds in West Antarctic Shelf sediments.

The ability of the multiple corer to consistently collect up to 12 high-quality sediment samples simultaneously, which include the overlying supernatant water and benthic fauna, has made it the primary corer for environmental impact assessment worldwide. The corer is universally acknowledged as being the only way of reliably collecting a truly undisturbed sediment sample from the seabed.

The multiple corer is hydrostatically damped to control the speed of descent of the core tubes into the sediment, and is constructed from stainless steel. The system features detachable core assemblies, which enables the core tubes (or if necessary the entire core tube assembly) to be removed from the corer for analysis or storage. The core tubes are sealed top and bottom once the sample has been taken, allowing rapid retrieval of the corer without jeopardizing sample integrity.

The corers are available in a 600mm or 800mm length core tube specification. Delivery times for the corers and spares are low, meaning last minute cruises can be catered for and systems can be kept in constant use for many years.

OSIL have an abundance of global experience in the construction and operation of a wide range of sediment coring equipment, including the industry standard Multi Corer and the unique Giant Piston Corer which is capable of achieving cores up to 60m in length.  OSIL also offer a full design, build and implementation service for all of their heavy offshore equipment.