Box corer

The box corer is used to sample soft sediments at the bottom of lakes, bays, and the ocean.The advantages of the box corer are its tripping and closing mechanisms, suitable for any water depth. It is designed for a minimum of disturbance of the sediment surface by bow wave effects which is important for quantitative investigations of the benthos micro- to macrofauna, geochemical processes, sampling of bottom water or sedimentology.

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.

Advantages:

Minimal disturbance to sediments

Simple to operate

Greater sample volume

Can sample overlying water with sediment