Piston Core

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Piston cores recover the longest soft sediment cores of any of the equipment SEASAM provides. The piston core drops at a free fall around a stationary piston that reduces internal friction allowing for longer cores. Jumbo piston cores (JPC) recover samples of 10.16 cm diameter and up to 24m in length in ideal conditions on ARF vessels. The free-fall is triggered by a ~3 m gravity core (“trigger core”) which also provides a 10.16 cm diameter sample of the upper sediment layers.

SEASAM also has a smaller piston corer that provides 6.35 cm diameter samples up to 25 m long.

JPC operations requires two technicians per shift to rig, launch and recover the apparatus. We handle JPC launch and recovery differently on each ship in the fleet and therefore we recommend reaching out to us about operation time and methods prior to planning your expedition. We can also adapt our systems for different pipe sizes.

Coring Device	Sample Diameter	Max Length*	Approximate Coring Device Weight
SEASAM Jumbo Piston Core	10.16 cm	24 m	3500 – 6000 lbs
Small piston corer	6.35 cm	25 m	250 – 1000 lbs

*Recovery is widely variable depending on sediment type, overboarding equipment limitations and ocean/weather conditions. Technically we can reach lengths up to ~30m but this is not readily feasible on current ARF vessels.