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Grabbing Sediment

A Van Veen grab is lowered to the seafloor, where the two halves of the scoop will close, “grabbing” a large scoop of sediment and any organisms living in it. Sediment grabs are a versatile and inexpensive method for collecting samples from the ocean floor. Van Veen grabs can be deployed easily from a dock or a ship. WHOI scientists have used them to study sediment from the Bering Sea (pictured) to investigate how climate change may be affecting Arctic Ocean ecosystems, and to look for human pathogens in sediments of Massachusetts waterways.(Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)