Coring Camera

UK-based bespoke marine engineering company Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) has announced the release of an innovative new camera system designed to be mounted to deep sea sediment corers.

The self-contained system will allow users to record the corer deployment and review the footage on recovery of the corer to check the system has deployed correctly, aid analysis of the sample and re-deployment of the corer, and offer a laser ranged view of the sediment itself via a graticule scale.

The camera is attached to the corer and can be programmed at the surface to turn on and begin recording at a specific depth (i.e. deployment depth or just before) via a pressure switch, and records until retrieved to the same depth, which means users do not have to review hours of wasted footage. Data is recorded onto a standard SD memory card.

The system is equipped with an internal power pack that enables recording on repeated deployments to obtain up to an hour of footage. Recharging and data transfer takes place via an external charging port. The camera is equipped with variable powered lights that can either be fixed to the side of the camera, or positioned elsewhere via umbilicals to allow adjustments to be made for visibility. The standard housing is rated to 6000m, but systems for shallower use are also available.

OSIL has also announced that it hasadded a new hydraulic vibrocorer to the existing product range due to customer demand.

The hydraulic system can be used as a standalone sediment corer, or can be easily adapted to allow integration with subsea vehicles. The use of hydraulics opens the system up for use in very deep water in conjunction with a seabed hydraulic power pack.

A range of systems are available depending on the specific application, offering from 2500kg to over 7000Kg centrifugal force, and each providing a well-structured core sample that retains the individual layers.

The hydraulic model is based around the existing modular electrical vibrocorer, which allows for a 3m, 6m, or 9m system to be constructed depending on requirements. This can be easily assembled dockside, or on the vessel itself, before deploying over the stern.

The system has been designed to be easy to handle, deploy and recover on vessels of opportunity.

OSIL offers a wide variety of sediment coring equipment, from off-the-shelf grabs and box (spade) corers, to bespoke coring systems such as the Gravity Corer, Piston Corer (available in lengths from 18m to 60m), Vibrocorer for dense or compacted sediments or the industry standard Multiple Corer for undisturbed sediment sampling.