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Down the Tubes

A top-down view through the massive, lead-filled core head—which can weigh as much as 25,000 pounds—offers an unusual view of the driving force behind WHOI’s new long-core system. The center of the image shows the inside of the core barrel, which is lined with a PVC pipe during deployment to contain the recovered sediment after the corer penetrates the sea floor. Comprised of multiple sections coupled together, the core barrel can be as long as 150 feet.

(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)