CR Environmental Sediment Sampling and Coring Capability

CR Environmental owns a large inventory of vibracoring and sediment sampling equipment designed for a wide range of applications. These include powerful BH-4 and BH-5 pneumatic vibracore systems capable of obtaining 10 to 20 foot cores in sand, clay, or gravel bottom in 10 to 100 foot water depths.  

In water depths greater than 100 ft, CR obtains core samples using Rossfelder electric vibracore systems, and deepwater piston core and gravity core systems. 

For shallow water coring and sediment sampling in depths from one to ten feet, CR has an 8 ft x 10 ft coring raft with a hydraulic winch and A-frame.  For these shallow water projects in ponds, bays and estuaries, CR uses a portable mechanical vibracore system capable of obtaining 8 to10 foot cores in harbor sediments ranging from fine silts to course sands. 

Cores are routinely collected using 8 to 20 foot lengths of 3-inch OD stainless steel tubing with stainless steel cutter and catcher assemblies and soft polyethylene core liners.  For obtaining larger sample volumes, CR recently developed a clamp for 4-inch tubing doubling the normal sampling volume. CR can also collect cores in rigid Lexan liner for archival purposes. 

CR personnel have extensive experience obtaining surface sediment samples using grab samplers, shallow water box core systems, and hand piston corers for sediment chemistry and biological analysis. CR owns two Ted Young grab samplers (0.1 m² and 0.04 m²), a petite ponar grab sampler, a Gray O’Hara (0.0625 m²) Box Corer, and a custom designed hand piston corer for obtaining undisturbed surface samples in water depths less than 10 feet.

CR’s (0.04 m²) Ted Young Grab sampler has also been outfitted with camera brackets and a stability fin allowing underwater video footage or still pictures of the bottom prior to obtaining the sediment samples.  

To support inshore grab and coring operations, CR uses their 32-ft aluminum research vessel Cyprinodon and a 35-ft converted lobster boat Sakonnet. Both vessels are equipped with hydraulic winches, capstans, and A-frames that have large pilot houses for navigation, survey equipment and sample processing.  For offshore sampling at the disposal sites, CR uses several converted fishing vessels located from Maine to Connecticut. Vessels like the 62-ft Christopher Andrew based in Scituate and the 95-ft Isabel S. based in New Bedford are equipped with hydraulic winches, A-frames and laboratory space in the pilot houses and fish holds

Samples of coring and sediment sampling projects are provided below: 

• Blue Atlantic Pipeline Route Vibracoring Sandy Hook to Arthur Kill, NJ  Provided precision navigation and obtained 10-20 foot vibracores for ENSR   August 2002;
• Boston Harbor Vibracoring for Maintenance Dredging Performed for the Woods Hole Group/NE ACOE   Sept 2002;
• New Bedford Harbor Vibracoring for Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation / NE ACOE – [collected over 700 vibracores for PCB and metals analyses]  2001-2002;
• Mohawk River, NY – [obtained 10 to 15 ft vibracore samples at former Coal Tar Facility for Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation and the Niagra Mohawk Power Company] August 2002;
• Vibracoring and Sediment Sampling at 10 Harbors from Maine to CT for maintenance dredging projects for ENSR / NE ACOE;
• Vessel, navigation, and technical support for PCB sediment monitoring program New Bedford Harbor [obtained sediment grabs at over 100 stations for sediment chemistry and benthic biology] ENSR /NE ACOE 1999-2000;
• Long Island Sound Disposal Site Sediment Sampling Program  [provided the F/V Isabel S., sampling equipment, and technical support] ENSR /NE ACOE 2000;
• Box coring and sediment grab sampling of seven reservoirs in the Catskill / Delaware watersheds for GZA / NYC DEP [collected nearly 1,000 grabs and 100 cores for sediment chemistry & in-situ nutrient flux experiments] 1997.