Long Core Sampling System

This five-year project focuses on the development of oceanic geology, specifically the design, development, and self-manufacturing of multifunctional gravity and piston long core samplers. While various international research units have developed different long core sampling systems, the cost-effectiveness and design considerations of domestic research vessels necessitate that purchased long core samplers may not be compatible with the current conditions of these vessels. Therefore, after reviewing and comparing the core sampling systems of countries such as the United States, France, Germany, and Japan, and combining the practical experience of domestic researchers working on French research vessels, we successfully developed a domestically-produced long core sampling system.

The key features of this system are as follows:

1. Ensuring personnel safety: The system uses an acoustic release mechanism to trigger the piston firing, avoiding the traditional mechanical firing design that may cause unexpected firings due to sea conditions, thereby preventing potential injuries to personnel.

2. Reducing equipment and vessel risks: By enlarging the inner pipe diameter and using an acoustic release system, this design prevents large long core systems from becoming stuck in the seabed due to high viscosity of the substrate during sampling, thus avoiding the risk of losing the core system and research vessel cables.

3. Enhancing ocean observation capability: The core head and core pipe are designed to serve as a platform for other marine observation equipment such as altimeters, inclinometers, thermometers, underwater positioning systems, various probes, water sampling bottles, and geothermal probes. This allows simultaneous acquisition of near-seafloor observation data while collecting core samples, enhancing environmental understanding at core sampling locations. Notably, combining the small multi-channel geothermal probes with the long core system not only ensures the precision of station measurements but also significantly improves the efficiency of offshore operations.

This long core sampling system is designed to be compatible with various lengths of steel pipes for collecting different core sample lengths and can be used on domestic research vessel platforms. For instance, in the case of the New Ocean Research Vessel 1 (Xinhaiyan 1), considering the space available on the aft deck and the height of the aft A-frame, it is capable of operating with core pipes up to 12–15 meters long under ideal sea conditions and seafloor characteristics. In the future, with the commissioning of larger domestic research or survey vessels, the system can be adapted for core sampling lengths of 15–20 meters or more, with related auxiliary equipment.