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First Cut

In the WHOI Core Lab, retiree and volunteer George Heimerdinger moves a length of sediment core encased in PVC pipe to the core splitter, where the PVC will be split lengthwise along opposite sides. Then the end caps will be cut and a wire will be used to slice through the sediment, following the cuts along the sides of the PVC tube. The segment of core, 1.5 meters long and weighing about 70 pounds, was cut from a much longer core and contains sediment that accumulated over several thousand years. Researchers at WHOI study cores to learn about past climate and ocean conditions.(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)