China News Service, Qingdao, March 7 (Hu Yaojie, Zhang Xiaopeng) The Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on the 7th that the large-diameter sediment column sampling system it developed has recently completed sea trials and verification in the southern waters of the Yellow Sea, and obtained single-column, continuous, The low-disturbance 500 mm large-diameter columnar sediment measured 7.89 meters, creating the longest sampling record of large-diameter columnar sediment with azimuth and attitude information in the southern Yellow Sea, filling the technical and equipment gaps in the field of large-diameter sediment sampling in China.

Currently, the columnar sediment has been transported to the West Coast New District of Qingdao, Shandong Province.

A 500 mm large-diameter sediment sampling system is used for sampling operations in the southern Yellow Sea.

(File photo) Photo by Luan Zhendong

  According to reports, the large-diameter sediment column sampling system is mainly used for archaeological research on buried ancient human sites on the continental shelf. The large-diameter sediment samples it samples make it easier to obtain well-preserved stratigraphic accumulations or ancient human remains (relics), which is important for understanding ancient human beings. Migration routes, settlement patterns, the origins of early navigation, and key scientific questions such as understanding how prehistoric humans responded to sea levels and climate change are important.

  Luan Zhendong, a senior engineer at the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the sampling diameter of traditional columnar sediment samplers is mostly about 110 mm. Large-diameter sediment sampling of 500 mm is not simply a matter of the diameter of the sampling tube becoming larger.

The increase in sampling diameter has brought about many problems such as difficulty in connecting the sampling pipe, small penetration depth, falling off of samples in the pipe, and difficulty in lifting.

A 500 mm large-diameter sediment sample obtained from the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(Information photo) Photo by Zhang Jianxing

  In this regard, researchers from the Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences innovatively proposed the concept of "gravity release + reciprocating ramming" to build a 500 mm large-diameter sediment sampling system.

The system adopts an operating mode of vertical retraction, online communication control, visualization, and equipped with multiple types of underwater sensors. It worked stably during the test, with a single sampling length of up to 7.89 meters, and collected data from the low sea level period since the Last Glacial Maximum. Continental stratigraphic samples.

  Luan Zhendong said that the successful sea trial application of this 500 mm large-diameter sediment sampling system will effectively support the development of research work on the sedimentary environment and early human remains of the eastern China's continental shelf, and improve China's archeology of the origins of early human culture and civilization on the continental shelf. The level of scientific research awareness in the research field.

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