An instrumented corer platform for seabed sampling and water column characterisation

At-sea operational time budgets for seabed (benthic) sampling programs in the deep ocean are strongly influenced by the long descent and ascent times of samplers. The aims of deep ocean programs often require different types of samples and data to be collected from single sites, and to be closely co-located in space and time. A point of leverage to minimise operational time budgets, and a means of ensuring spatial and temporal co-location of samples, is the deployment of several sampling devices or sensors together.