A Percussion Coring System for Ferromanganese Crusts and Other Consolidated Seafloor Deposits

A percussion coring system for the recovery of multiple discrete samples of ferromanganese crust has been designed, fabricated, and tested at sea. This system consists of an array of thirty core guns, bottom triggering and sequencing electronics, an acoustic telemetry system, and a 35 mm camera system.It is rated for operation to 5000 meters depth and can be operated from typical oceanographic research vessels using a standard mechanical deep sea wire.The system recently underwent its first at-sea use aboard the French research vessel Jean Charcot, sampling crust deposits in the Tuamotu archipelago.Planned future development work includes modification of the sampler to recover massive sulfides, glassy or weathered basalts and other consolidated materials, and design of an untethered, free-fall sampler.