Instrument: Ocean Instruments MC-400 Multi corer

The Ocean Instruments MC-400 {Hedrick/Marrs} multi-corer is a sediment multi-corer with a series of cores attached to one deployment frame. This model carries four sample tubes. It is designed to retrieve sediment and water samples in lakes and shelf waters. The sample tubes are sealed with a silicone rubber upper door gasket and a neoprene or carpet lower door seal. Each of the four sample tubes can be removed from the coring unit for immediate processing in the laboratory without exposing their contents to the surface environment. It is designed to recover undisturbed surface sediments and is therefore well-suited to study benthic processes. The multi-corer is disposed on a research vessel and is lowered into the water body by a cable. When the multi-corer touches the sediment the units ballast weight pushes the assembled cores into the substrate. Each of the tubes contains a unique sediment core. The multi-corer uses a unique hydrostatic damping system that slows the penetration rate down to approximately 1 cm/s. Provisions have been made to carry up to two 4-liter water bottles that actuate as the frame legs touch bottom. The overall sample tube length is 58 cm, with a maximum penetration of 34.5 cm. The tube diameter is 10 cm.