A portable, electrical-based percussion coring system for use in deep water

This article describes a sediment coring system that can be used in deep water (30 to 60 m) with no aid from divers. The system is light and compact enough to be operated by three persons and transported in a small boat and/or in a small airplane. A core tube penetrates into sediments with the force caused by percussion of a water-proof electric hammer driven by a generator on the boat. With this device, four sand cores were retrieved from a lagoon floor at depths ranging from 40 m to 58 m. A flexible vinyl tube is used as a core liner, and it provides an exact measure of core recovery.