Sediment sampling with a core sampler equipped with aluminum tubes and an onboard processing protocol to avoid...

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Environmental Science
• Oceanography

Background:

• Microplastics are pervasive pollutants found even on the deep-sea floor.
• Conventional sediment corers often use plastic tubes, risking sample contamination.
• Plastic contamination from sampling equipment can compromise deep-sea research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the use of aluminum tubes in sediment corers to prevent microplastic contamination.
• To provide an alternative to plastic sampling tubes for deep-sea sediment collection.
• To ensure the integrity of deep-sea sediment samples for microplastic analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized aluminum tubes with a multiple corer and a push corer for deep-sea sediment sampling.
• Compared aluminum tubes with conventional plastic tubes regarding contamination and efficiency.
• Developed an onboard processing protocol to minimize contamination when using plastic tubes.

Main Results:

• The use of aluminum tubes significantly reduces the risk of microplastic contamination in sediment samples.
• Aluminum tubes allow for the retrieval of undisturbed sediment cores.
• The efficiency of sediment core retrieval with aluminum tubes is comparable to conventional plastic tubes.

Conclusions:

• Employing aluminum tubes in sediment corers is an effective strategy to prevent microplastic contamination.
• This method enhances the reliability of deep-sea sediment samples for environmental studies.
• The study offers practical solutions for improving the quality of deep-sea sampling techniques.