Marine Sediment Coring
A sediment core is a cylindrical sample of material from collected from the seabed that provides a window into the past. The preserved sediment layers record the deposits from past volcanic eruptions.
Piston coring - seafloor sediment collection
The piston corer is a long, heavy tube plunged into the seafloor to extract samples of ocean floor mud sediment. From the RV Tangaroa, piston coring can collect sediment cores down to 6m.
Piston core sediment sampling around the proximal and distal flanks of these island volcanoes will identify ash layers that provide further information on the style and timing of the eruptions, the chemistry of the magmas, and the nature of ash dispersal.