Palos Verdes

Vibracore

An Alpine vibracore was used to collect cores on the shelf (shelf here is defined as no deeper then 70-90 meters). An Alpine vibracore is used to collect long cores (approximately 6 meters in length) from a sandy and/or gravelly sea floor. A longer core might provide information on sediment conditons before human occupation. The vibracore is lowered to the sea floor and the core is "vibrated" into the sea floor by an air driven pneumatic motor on top of the corer. The compressed air is provided by an air compressor on deck.

In the photos above the vibracore is being lowered to the sea floor from the deck of the research vessel Farnella. The blue hoses are providing compressed air to the pneumatic motor on top of the corer. The photo below shows the vibracore on the bottom.

For additional information, contact Homa Lee