GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Technical Field Equipment - Drilling Equipment

UWITEC - Piston corer (coring system with motor power)

  • rope-operated piston corer
  • coring drive by steel weight at the sediment surface and with motor power
  • core barrels of 2.0 and 3.0 m length with plastic liner
  • core diameter is 86mm

Application

  • Core sections up to 20.0 m long in the sediment; "unlimited" water depths (actually 240.0 m of Kevlar-rope)

Field requirements

  • Complete raft on a car trailer (e.g. UWITEC aluminium pontons and 2 inflatable floaters)
  • drilling crew of 3 or 4 persons

UWITEC - Piston Corer (manually operated system)

  • rope-operated piston corer
  • coring drive by steel weight at the sediment surface
  • core barrels of 2.0 m and 3.0 m length with plastic liner
  • core diameter 60 and 86 mm

Application

  • core sections up to 20.0 m long
  • "unlimited" water depths (until 140m water depth - length of the rope and the underwater pressure)

Field requirement

  • smaller raft (e.g. UWITEC aluminium mounts or inflatable floaters)
  • drilling crew of at least 3 persons

Usinger Piston Corer

  • modified Livingstone-style piston corer with a rod-operated piston system
  • coring drive by a fuel hammer (or electro) from the steel raft
  • aluminium casing between the raft and the sediment surface
  • core barrels of 1.0 or 2.0 m length in steel liner (wall thickness of 1 mm)
  • core barrel diameter of 40, 55, 80 and 100 mm available

Application

  • high-precision coring
  • long, undisturbed sediment sections, more than 50.0 m long (depending on water depth and sediment behavior, actual maximum sediment section length is 95.0m)
  • coring of various lake sediments and peat, including dm-scale coarse-grained layers, lakes with water depths up to 50.0 m

Field requirements

  • for coring of long sediment sections or stiff sediments with a stable raft and a large electro winch and tripod with 3.5 m free working height
  • drilling crew of 4-6 people for coring (minimum two technicans)

Ghilardi Freefall Corer KGH 94

  • rope-operated freefall corer with trigger weight
  • short cores in a plastic tube with length until 1.80m
  • core diameter of 60.0 mm

Application

  • Short cores of maximum 1.80 m length from soft lake sediments

Field requirements

  • rubber boat or a small inflatable catamaran
  • 2 persons for coring

UWITEC Freefall Corer

  • rope-operated light-weight freefall corer without piston
  • short cores in a plastic tube with length until 2.0 m
  • core diameter of 60.0 or 86.0 mm

Application

  • short cores of maximum 2.0 m length from soft lake sediments

Field Requirements

  • rubber boat or a small inflatable catamaran
  • 2 persons for coring

UWITEC Freeze Corer (Freeze Corer Type 4)

  • rope-operated freeze corer
  • aluminium freeze sword cooled by ethanol
  • different sizes (width and length) of freezing swords (standard is 110.0 x 10.0 cm)

Application

  • high precision coring of the uppermost, unconsolidated part of lake sediment sections
  • water depth of several 100.0 m

Field requirements

  • small raft
  • dry ice or liquid nitrogen to cool the ethanol
  • coring team of at least 2 persons

Russian Peat Corer

  • rod-operated peat corer of 1.5 m length (chamber size 7.5 x 100.0 cm);
  • 9.0 m of extension rods;

Application

  • Peat and soft lake sediments;
  • Shallow water;

Field requirements

  • One person

  • Mechanical extruder for Usinger-corer steel tubes
  • Hydraulic extruder for Usinger-corer steel tubes
  • Hydraulic extruder for UWITEC-corer steel and plastic tubes
  • UWITEC water sampler (5.0 litre)
  • Water sampler 1.5 and 3.0 litre
  • Hand winches (UWITEC) for 150.0 and 170.0 m water depths (for water sampler and shortcore systems)
  • Plankton nets
  • Echo Sounder and Side-imaging “Humminbird” Model 1198c
  • Echo Sounder “Garmin” Model GPSMap 188C 
  • hand-operated GPS – “Garmin”
  • Sub-Bottom Profiler “INNOMAR” Model SES-2000 compact
  • “Hemisphere”, Model R110 GPS
  • Mini “ROV Guardian”, Model 2.1 (submarine with cameras and tools for sediment and water sampling)
  • cable-operated underwater camera (“Mangrove”) and lights (Mascot/Hardenberger)
  • Sediment traps (Technicap PPS3/3; KC Denmark & UWITEC)
  • Catamarans with Inflatable rubbers (small and bigger one (4.0 x 4.0 m))
  • “Yamaha” rubber boats (YAM 275,340, 380 S)
  • Electro boat engine “Torqueedo”, Model Travel 1003; Boat engines “Honda” with 5, 15 and 25 PS
  • Generators “Honda” with 1.0, 2.0. and 5.0 KW

Multiparameter Water Probe, Model YSI 6920

  • for water depths of max. 150.0 m, with sensors for measurements of Temperature, DO (dissolved oxygen), pH/ORP (combined sensor for pH and oxidation / reduction potential), Specific Conductivity and Turbidity

Multiparameter Water Probe, Model YSI 6600

  • for water depths of max. 200.0 m, with sensors for measurements of Temperature, DO (dissolved oxygen), pH/ORP (combined sensor for pH and oxidation / reduction potential), Specific Conductivity and Turbidity

Chlorophyll Probe, Model YSI 6025

  • for measurements of general chlorophyll content
  • Excitation at about 470nm

  • Working catamaran
  • Lake sediment coring with UWITEC - piston corer

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