"AN APPARATUS FOR SECTIONING AQUEOUS SEDIMENTS"

Field of the invention:

The present invention relates to an apparatus for sectioning the aqueous sediments in the core liners at the desired intervals.

More particularly the present invention relates to an apparatus working with mechanical control for sectioning of sediments in the core liners up to millimeter level. Further the present invention relates to an apparatus having a rotatable sample holder for core liner with an attachment fixed on the top of the core liner enables precise sectioning of the sediments up to milimeter level at desired intervals without contamination.

Background & Prior Art of the invention:

The oceanographers use the spade or box corer, gravity corer, or piston corer for deep sea sediment sampling, and a small corer operated either by a diver or from the surface for sampling in shallow waters (20 m or less). Whichever type of sampler is used, the corer allows a vertical section of unconsolidated bottom sediments to be brought to the surface for analysis and testing. Because of changes in pressure, temperature, and mechanical properties of the sediment caused by removal of the core from the bottom, the sediments are required to be cut, sectioned or sub-sampled immediately after their retrieval at the desired intervals so as to make them suitable for the wide range of applications and experiments. For various applications, the geologists and biologists require the sediment core sectioned from top to bottom at different intervals. Normally, geologists prefer sediment sections at 0.25, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 cm intervals whereas the biologists require the same at 0.5, 3, and 5 cm intervals.

The best-known method of obtaining undisturbed seabed/ aqueous sediment samples is by coring. Normally, the sea floor samples are obtained by using box coring, piston coring, and the gravity coring. Therefore, the spade or box corer, gravity corer and piston cores are widely used in most modern oceanographic research vessels.

The box or spade core takes relatively short (<60 cm) essentially undisturbed samples of the sea floor (Rosfelder and Marshall, N. F. 1967; Obtaining large, undisturbed, and oriented samples in deep water, Marine Geotechnique, Proceedings of the International Research Conference on Marine Geotechnique 1966. pp. 243-264). The sampling box is a hollow steel-walled rectangle mounted beneath a weight column. When deployed

from the ship, the box core apparatus is lowered to the sea floor via a winch cable. The support frame comes to rest on the sea floor and the weight column slides downward through the guide into the frame, driving the sampling box into the sea floor sediment. To remove the coring apparatus without losing the sample through the bottom of the box, the winch wire is taken in and a spade arm that is wired to the weight column closes beneath the base of the box (Rosfelder and Marshall, 1967; Obtaining large, undisturbed, and oriented samples in deep water, Marine Geotechnique, Proceedings of the International Research Conference on Marine Geotechnique 1966. pp. 243-264). The box core apparatus and sediment are then returned to the ship's deck. Once on deck, a piston-driven sub-sampling devise is used to take whole round cylindrical sub-cores from within the box of the box/spade core. The sub-cores are processed and preserved onboard for determining various parameters. The principal drawback of this sub-coring apparatus is that it is bulky, large and requires AC/ DC power supply for operation. Besides this, the unit occupies ample area on the deck or in the laboratory.

Another way of method of sub-sampling or sectioning the sediments from the core liner is by pushing or extruding out the sediments by a piston with a long rod. This method has many drawbacks, such as (i) the sediment is extruded by holding the core liner in hands and in a crude horizontal position, (ii) the ^' precision' in sectioning the sediments is always approximated, (iii) the sectioned sample gets mixed in the collecting bag, and (iv) the sample portion is squeezed while removing from the core liner.

The piston core devise consists of a weight stand mounted above a length of stainless steel core barrel (Kullenburg, 1955; Deep-sea coring: Rept. Swedish deep-sea Expedition IV. Bottom Investigations, No. 2, pp. 51-76). A plastic liner, housing a fitted piston, is inserted into the core barrel to contain the sample. The lifting cable is fitted into a trigger arm with a slack loop and tension is applied by a separate trigger weight. Then, the apparatus is lowered to the sea floor at a constant velocity and the trigger weight is allowed to impact the sea floor releasing the trigger arm and allowing the corer to free- fall a calibrated distance to the sea floor. While penetrating, the piston creates a partial vacuum state within the core liner, thus improving the amount of sample recovered (Noorany, 1972; Underwater soil sampling and testing-A state-of-the-art review, Underwater Soil sampling, Testing and Construction Control, ASTM STP 501, American Society for Testing and Materials, pp.3-41). The apparatus is then returned to the ship's deck, where the sediment core is removed from the core barrel.

Core liner from the core barrel of the piston or gravity core is removed and cut in pieces of desired (usually half to 1 meter) length for handling and preservation. The sediments from the cut pieces are extruded out by push method as described above.

In another method of sectioning or sub-sampling the sediments from 5 to 6 m long core liner removed from the gravity or piston corer, the liner is kept horizontal on a supporting platform and cut longitudinally by a drilling machine with a diamond wheel. The top of the half cut liner is then removed to expose the complete length of sediment in the liner, and sediments are sub-sampled using a knife after marking intervals on the surface. This method has many drawbacks. This method is unsuitable for precise sub-sampling due to possibilities of sediment mixing and contaminations with fine particles of liner due to cutting. Besides, the sections are only approximate as the sediment is sectioned (usually 2 cm) using a knife marks on the exposed sediment.

A variety of forms have evolved over several decades starting in 1939 with different techniques to collect sea floor sediment samples. Sediment samplers by Lang A. M. (patent US2153894, 1939; & US2519056, 1950) are not suitable for sectioning of the sediments from core as the sediment is removed by syringe or operated by single air line. The sea floor sediment sampler developed later by Shipek CJ. (US3165931 ; 1965) and Kennedy V.C. (US3347101 ; 1967) is not suitable for sectioning of the sediments after retrieval.

Similarly, patent numbers US3707196, 1972; GB1400096, 1975; SU628425, 1978; SU976329, 1982; US4312762, 1982; US4729437, 1988; WO8912220, 1989; SU 1828488, 1993; DE10057738, 2002; US6742406, 2004 also disclose sediment samplers mainly for the retrieval of the sea floor sediments. However, these samplers though very good for the main purpose of sampling the sediments, fail miserably for accurate sub-sampling.

The US patent no. US4398361 by Amann et al., (1983) discloses recovery of sediments from the bottom of the sea in which a suction head is lowered into the sediment and continuously moved to scrape the sediment to loosen it. However, the sediments are mixed as they are suctioned and lifted up.

The patent no. JP2004068250 by Yoshikawa Tadao (2004) discloses sediment sampling method and apparatus for accurately measuring the property of excavated sediment. This apparatus is used in an earth pressure type shield excavator including a pressure chamber for discharging excavated sediment taken in the pressure chamber. However, this apparatus is not suitable for either removing the sediments from the core liners and or sectioning.

Similarly, the patent no. CN2687653Y by Huang Honghui (2005) discloses small gravity sediment column type sampling apparatus. However, it is not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

A number of apparatus have been commercially used for scooping, sectioning or slicing the sediments but they all suffer from one or more deficiencies and have limited applications. These apparatus either utilize powered rotary slicer, or their moving parts are unduly complex. Early sediment scoop apparatus were designed not for the oceanographic purpose but for removing sediment from soups or other liquids, cream from the surface of milk, or jam from cooking vessels or containers, egg slicer.

The patent no. GB234955A by E. M. B. Griffit (1925) discloses scoop apparatus for removing sediment from the surface of liquids and for other culinary or like purposes consists of a substantially semi-cylindrical vessel with a flat side and a sharp top. However, this apparatus cannot be adopted for precise sectioning or slicing of sediments in the core liner. Similarly, the US patent numbers US2437637; US2449737 by Bridge E. W. (1948) discloses machine for slicing, cutting, and core removing. However, they are not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

Domestic grating or slicing machine by Braun E. P. R. and Braun A.K.H. (1960; patent no. GB829731) uses a grating or slicing disc mounted between a cover and a casing whose assembly slides down on a coupling sleeve of a shaft driven by reducing gears mounted within a core This machine is not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners at the desired intervals.

Similarly, slicing machine by Unexcelled Chemical Corp. (1967; patent no. GB1055310) relates to apparatus for slicing food products and arranging them in stack form. More particularly, this apparatus is controlled automatically within close tolerances and underweight stacks rejected so that the stacked slices are packaged in prescribed weights. The slices pass as a stack from the stacker to a two-speed weighing conveyer

driven at low speed. The machine is therefore not applicable for extrusion and sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

In one of the food slicing machine by Hobart Mfg. Co. (1973; patent no. GB1328431), the main object is to convert meat or other material into thin slices of precisely uniform thickness. However, the working of this machine is not suitable for extrusion and sectioning of sediments from the core lines.

The US patent no. US3975957 by Mesecar Rodericks S. (1976) discloses a sediment sampling system with a sampling bed and an elongated roller at one end of the bed for supplying the sheet of sample collecting material. This system mainly helps collection of sediments for predetermined period and can be used for different environmental conditions and but not suitable for the sub-sampling or sectioning of the sediments in the core liners.

Similarly, a scraper proposed by Tanaka Shizuo and Eguchi Sueyoshi (1981 ; patent no. JP56115429) is power driven and helps to scoop the sediment on the ground at one stroke to prevent spillage. The working of this system is not suitable for sectioning the sediments precisely from the core liners.

The US patent no. US4337693 by Dandrea P.L. (1982) discloses pepper coring and slicing apparatus with a conveyor. It has individual pepper holding apparatus for holding peppers with the stem portion upward. It also has a processing station for coring and splitting the peppers, and a discharge station where the peppers are ejected from the pepper holders and dropped onto a conveyor for further processing. However, this apparatus is complex and the method is not suitable for precise sectioning the sediments from the core liners

The US patent no. US4310969 by Cannizzaro J. and Winston L. (1982) discloses partial coring apparatus designed to meet the objective of merely removing a portion of the core of the fruit and to leave a hole. It is a cylindrically shaped coring apparatus with an axially-slidable side member that alternately ejects and retracts a core-slicing or cutting structure removable of a portion of the core of a fruit. However, the methodology adopted in the apparatus is not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

Apparatus developed by Hans A., Jurgen B., Klaus L. and Fritzo P. (1983) mainly deals with the recovery of sediments from the sea bottom (patent no. CA1141784) where, the suction head provides low frictional resistance during penetration and high frictional resistance upon retrieval. The apparatus therefore is not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

The purpose of slicing method of magnetic head core block developed by Homoto Masahiro, Kawai Kazuhiko and Sugiyama Shintarou (1985) (patent no. JP60043211) is to facilitate easy operation and prevent core chips from scattering. This apparatus also improves yield by arranging all core blocks in positioning grooves accurately and slices plates, one by one, using a cutter. Lower parts of core blocks are embedded in the grooves and both members are joined into one body by applying an adhesive between the plane of the plate and flanks of each core block. The plate is sliced with the cutter along a reference cutting line. This method makes gap lines of respective core blocks and stress applied to cut core chips by the cutter in the cutting operation is reduced to lessen the inclination for scattering. Drawback of this method is that it is not suitable for sectioning the sediments from the core liners.

The US patent no. US4497163 by Ogman Abraham (1985) fulfills the object of slicing a large round bale of fibrous agricultural crop material into two or more parts. However, it is not suitable for sectioning the sediments without cutting the core liners.

Similarly, the US patent no. US4581990 by Matsumoto Hideo (1986) discloses an apparatus developed for slicing vegetables and fruits. One such apparatus had an object to provide a slicing by which a fruit or vegetable, such as a cabbage, can be completely sliced in such a manner that only a core remains. However, such apparatus is not suitable for precise slicing the sediments from the core liners.

The sampler by lsotalo llkka (1989) is designed particularly for picking up samples from the sediment and/or the aqueous layer near the bottom of a watercourse (publication no. WO8912220). Sampling apparatus by Bugiel G. (1992) is in particular designed for taking as far as possible unadulterated fluid samples such as ground water or ground gas (patent no. EP0469427). Similarly, unit developed by Hilt B. (1993) is applicable for peeling, slicing and core removal form fruit and vegetables (patent no.FR2692188), and not for the removal of sediments from core liners at desired intervals.

Slicing machine by Yamagishi Makoto (1995) uses power and is applicable where cutting resistance due to abrasion when the pressing force of a core is sprayed to a cutter blade (patent no. JP7112431). The machine has a position detector to detect displacement of the cutter blade during operation. However, the machine can not be used for slicing the sediments from within the core liners.

Slicing machine by Yoshida Osamu and Tsuchiyama Hiroshi (1994) improves flatness of the cut surface due to the grindstone of an inner peripheral blade (patent no. JP6270137). However, it is not suitable for cutting the sediments precisely from the core liners at the desired intervals.

Another slicing machine designed by Yoshida Osamu (1995) has a crystal ingot, which is cut into a thin slice by the rotation of the inner diameter blade (patent no. JP7304028). Main drawback of this machine that is powered is the contamination from coolant in the cut edge. Further, it has a gas jetting means for jetting dry air for removing coolant flowing along blade surfaces after cutting, and makes the machine bulky. The machine is not suitable for the precise sectioning the sediments in core liner at regular intervals.

Similarly, apple slicing apparatus by Surdu Raluca (2000; patent no.RO115999) is not suitable for slicing sediments from core liners mainly because the apparatus has a central cutting rod to remove core and the soft portion of the apple is sliced by some fixed and radially arranged cutting blades inclined at 30°, and requires a compression cover to press the apple manually.

In the continuous sediment-agitating apparatus by lkeda Shozo, Nomoto Giichi and Nakajima Katsuji (1999), a large quantity of sediment containing obstructions is agitated (patent no. JP11100838). The agitator is composed of a rotary shaft and a large number of linear members. The rotary shaft is fixed with two circular plates separated by a distance in the axial direction, and the outer peripheral parts are provided with a large number of linear member through-holes. Sediment is continuously fed from the filling port and agitated by the linear members before slicing. The apparatus is thus not suitable for sectioning the sediments in the core liners.

Another apparatus by Yamada Yyuzo (2002) for removing sediment deposit in Dam Lake uses a shield material for sectioning water in the dam pond and a suction pump for sucking sediments from suction region. A separator is used for separating sediments

from water sucked by the suction pump (patent no.JP2002047633). This method is therefore not suitable for sectioning the sediments at regular interval from the core liners.

Sediment sampling adaptor by Umeoka Mikio (2003) allows sampling of sediment in method for Swedish weight sounding test (patent no. JP2003027454). It is composed of a cylinder body and a joint member, a thread groove and discharge holes. This adopter has a specific purpose and can not be used for cutting the sediments from the core liners.

The sediment samplers, cutters, splitters, and slicers discussed above suffer from a common drawback such as uncontrolled and variable motion of the sampler thereby disturbing the sample texture; churning or mixing and contamination of the sediment; and no proper mechanism for precise sectioning the sediments at the desired intervals. Further, none of the above mentioned apparatus and machines could hold the core liner vertically and extrude the sediment. Therefore, they are not suitable and can not be used for precise sub-sampling or sectioning of sediments from the core liners. Using these apparatus forcedly would not only result in damaging the precious sediment sample and loss their physical, mechanical and chemical properties, but also in mixing and contamination, besides not achieving the object of sectioning the sediments at the desired intervals. Such sediments would not suitable for research purpose and laboratory experiments.

The present invention obviates the above drawbacks by incorporating mechanical control in extruding and sectioning the sediments. This results in an apparatus for preparing clean, non-contaminated, and high quality sections from surface to the entire length of the core liner. Thus, the object is achieved by using a mechanical apparatus which is light weight, portable, and can be taken on board, quickly assembled and used easily, besides it saves additional core logging time and manpower.

Objects of the invention:

The main object of present invention is to provide an apparatus for sectioning the aqueous sediments in the core liners at the desired intervals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus working with mechanical controls for sectioning of sediments in the core liners up to millimeter level.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus used for sectioning, cutting, splitting and slicing the aqueous sediment material.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a rotatable sample holder for core liner with an attachment fixed on the top of the core liner enables precise sectioning of the sediments up to milimeter level at desired intervals without contamination and mixing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to protect loss of sediment during sectioning.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide cross section of each sediment section for logging.

Another object of the present invention is to maintain the core liner in vertical position during sub-sampling.

Yet another object of present invention is to provide a sub-sampling apparatus with attachment which is small, compact, light weight, portable, user friendly and low cost.

Summary of the invention:

The present invention provides an apparatus for sectioning the aqueous sediments in the core liners at the desired intervals.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for sectioning of sediments from core liners at desired interval, wherein the apparatus consisting of the following parts-

(a) a basal plate with a threaded hole in the center;

(b) a rod having equally spaced normal threads, bolted at bottom of the basal plate; (c) a rotating steel disk with a threaded hole, mounted on the threaded rod;

(d) a steel cup to position and hold the core liner being placed vertically above the basal plate ;

(e) a grooved stopper or cap for preventing sediment falling down from core liner;

(f) an adjustable acrylic coupler or gripper being fixed on the top of the core liner having collapsible steel scale; and

(g) a rotatable steel slicer to cut or slice or section the sediment inside the core liner.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the threaded rod is bolted at the bottom of the basal plate.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the basal plate, threaded rod, steel disk, coupler, bolt, scale, screw and core liner is made of different metal or alloy or plastic or p.v.c or acrylic or wood or similar other material.

In still an embodiment of the present invention, the steel disk rotates freely up and down horizontally on the threaded rod using different controls.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the scale is provided along the length of the threaded rod to measure the thickness of the sediment to be sliced or sectioned.

In yet an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus is used for sectioning, cutting, splitting and slicing the similar material of different origin.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the core liner of different dimension is used to obtain sections of different sediment thickness. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the internal diameter of the core liner ranges from 2 cm to 15 cm.

Further in an embodiment of the present invention, the said apparatus is useful for sectioning the coastal and deep-sea sediment at desired interval up to millimeter levels using the core liners. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the said apparatus works mechanically to have full control over precise sectioning or cutting or slicing or dividing or sub-sampling of the aqueous sediment from the core liner at the desired interval.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the desired level of interval is in the range of 0.125 cm - 5 cm. Further in another embodiment of the present invention, the said apparatus prevents mixing or contaminating the sectioned sample as the. core liner remains in vertical position.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible scale provided along with the coupler or gripper is replaced by any other scale for measuring the thickness of the sediment to be sliced or cut or sectioned or sub-sampled.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the reading of the collapsible scale is viewed through optical or electronic display unit having related sensors and controls.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the measurement of the thickness of the sediment to be sliced or cut or sectioned or sub-sampled is alternatively determined using the pre-calibrated unit value for number of rotations of steel disk along the vertical axis.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, different unit is used for calibrating the number of rotations of steel disk required along the vertical axis to raise unit thickness of the sediment from the core liner.

Further in another embodiment of the present invention, the upward and downward of movement of the steel disk and the rotation of the steel slicer is controlled by use of electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical or spring power.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a foot liver or paddle is provided to facilitate the downward and upward movement of the steel disk holding the core liner.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the threaded rod is optionally replaced by unthreaded rod, and the downward and upward movement of steel disk to be controlled using appropriate locking arrangement against the rod.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the core liner is optionally supported externally by hands or using separate assembly or a structure to avoid either slipping down or falling of core liner from the steel cap or core holder. Further in another embodiment of the present invention, the rubber stopper or cap is optionally replaced by suitable paper or thermocol or acrylic or metallic or metal alloy or similar material.

Brief description of the drawings: Figure 1 represents an overall view and control system of the complete assembly of the portable apparatus. The sediment sub-sampler comprises of a threaded stainless steel rod [1] bolted [2] at one end to the center of an aluminum basal plate [3] having rubber cushions [4]. The other end of this rod has a small projection [5] on which rests the cap or stopper [6] due to a hole [7] provided within. Threaded steel disk [8] having threaded hole [9] and steel cap [10] is mounted on top of the threaded rod. The steel cap [10] helps to hold and retain the core liner vertically. The steel disk [8] can be mechanically rotated freely on the threaded rod using screw holder [11]. The main purpose of this disk is to help pushing the sediment of desired quantity out of core liner by rotating the disk as per calibration.

Figure 2 represents a closer view of cylindrical acrylic core liner with the sediment resting on a cap or rubber stopper [6] at the bottom to hold the sediments [13] inside the liner. A hole [7] has been provided inside the cap/ rubber stopper [6], which helps the core liner to sit on the top of the threaded rod holding the sediment above.

Figure 3 represents the view of attachments and the coupler with a collapsible scale and cutter or slicer for sectioning the sediment extruded above the core liner. It comprises of a coupler or gripper [14] with a screw [15] to facilitate an easy attachment of it on the top of the acrylic core liner [12]. The coupler has a steel collapsible scale [16] displaying divisions up to 10 cm and/ or more, and can be fixed with another screw [17]. The coupler also has a movable steel slicer or sectioner or cutter [18] that can be screwed [19] to the coupler [14]. It has a sharp edge [20] that acts as a blade and helps to cut or slice the sediment. Spilling of the sectioned or sliced sediment can be prohibited due to a projection [21] on the movable slicer. A small holder [22] screwed to the steel slicer [18] helps to move or rotate the slicer horizontally through the projected sediment from the core liner. A steel wire [23] with a ring [24] on the coupler also helps to cut or section or sub-sample the core sediment

Detailed description of the invention: The present invention provides a portable apparatus [25] for sectioning the sediments at desired interval from core liners [12] which comprises of a basal aluminum plate [3] with a threaded hole in the center to hold a threaded rod having equally spaced normal (11 tpi) threads, which can be bolted [2] at the bottom of the basal plate, steel disk [8] with a threaded hole [9] to rotate freely and move up or down horizontally on the threaded rod [1] and having a steel cup [10] to position and hold the core liner vertically, a grooved stopper or cap [6] to prevent the sediment falling down from the core liner and a groove or a hole [7] to sit upright on the top of the projection of the threaded rod [5], an adjustable acrylic coupler or gripper [14] on the top of the core liner having collapsible steel scale [16] to measure the thickness of the sediment to be sliced or sectioned, along with a rotatable steel slicer [18] to cut or slice or section the sediment inside the core liner [13].

The said apparatus works mechanically to have full control over precise sectioning, cutting, slicing, dividing or sub-sampling of the aqueous sediment from the core liner at the desired interval up to micro level by keeping the core liner in vertical position and also preventing from mixing and or contaminating the sectioned sample at the same time; with an option to measure thickness of the sediment to be sliced or cut or sectioned or sub-sampled either by the use of the collapsible scale provided along with the coupler or gripper, or by using the pre-calibrated value for number of rotations of steel disk along the axis required to rise unit thickness or the desired thickness of the sediment from the core liner.

In another feature of the present invention the threaded rod can be replaced by unthreaded rod, and the downward and upward movement of steel disk can be controlled using appropriate locking arrangement against the rod. In still another feature of the present invention the acrylic liner used is having diameter in the range of 2 cm - 6 cm and PVC liner used is having diameter of at least up to 15 cm.

The following examples are given by way of illustration and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention.

Example - 1

Sub-sampling of box core sediment @ 1 cm interval: Box or spade core sediments, sectioned at 1 cm interval from a core liner were required for detailed geochemical studies. In order to achieve this, small diameter core liners (I. D. = 6 cm) was inserted in the box / spade core containing pelagic sediments from the seabed. The core liner was removed from the box core by inserting rubber stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled sub-sampling apparatus. Coupler of appropriate size was fixed on the top of the core liner and the top surface of the sediment inside the core was brought to top the level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 3 rotations = 1 cm, the steel disk was rotated 3 times downwards from the reference point. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using the rotating or movable slicer or cutter of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-1 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred in to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. The steel disk was then rotated further downwards 3 times and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 1-2 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred in to ice box. The slicer or sectioner was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove any stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

In this way, the entire sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 1 cm interval. Thickness of the sediment sliced was checked randomly against collapsible scale of the coupler. Finally there were 42 sections of 42 cm sediment core length. The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. Afterwards, the empty core liner was

removed from the apparatus, cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. Similarly, the sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse. All the sub-samples from the ice box were transferred immediately to the deep freezer.

Example - 2

Sub-sampling of spade core sediment @ 2 cm interval: Spade or box core sediments at 2 cm interval were required for general geochemical, sedimentological and geotechnical studies. In order to achieve this, small diameter core liners (I. D. = 6 cm) was inserted in the spade / box core containing pelagic sediments from the seabed. The core liner was removed from the spade core by inserting rubber stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled sub-sampling apparatus. Coupler of appropriate size was fixed on the top of the core liner and the top surface of the sediment inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 6 rotations = 2 cm, the steel disk was rotated 6 times downwards from the reference point. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using horizontly rotating or movable slicer of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-2 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. Later, the steel disk was further rotated downwards 6 times and the sediment raised above the core liner was cut following the steps mentioned above in example 1. This sediment section was labeled as 2-4 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer or cutter was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove any stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

In this way, the remaining length of sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 2 cm interval or spacing. Thickness of the sediment sliced was checked sometimes against collapsible scale. All together there were 20 sections of 40 cm sediment core length. All the sub-samples kept the ice box were transferred to the deep freezer. The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus, cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. The sub- sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Example - 3

Sub-sampling of box core sediment @ 5 cm interval: Box core sediments of 5 cm interval were required for geochemical, sedimentological and geotechnical studies. In order to achieve this, small diameter core liners (I. D. = 6 cm) was inserted in the box core containing pelagic sediments from the seabed. The core liner was removed from the box core by inserting rubber stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled sub-sampling apparatus. Coupler of appropriate size was fixed on the top of the core liner and the sediment inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 15 rotations = 5 cm, the steel disk was rotated 15 times downwards from the reference point. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using horizontally rotating slicer of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-5 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

The steel disk was then rotated downwards 15 times and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 5-10 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer or sectioner was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

In this way, the remaining sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 5 cm interval. Thus, 42 cm long sediment core was sub-sampled in to 9 sections @ 5 cm interval. For few times, the thickness of the sediment sliced was checked against collapsible scale At the end, all sub-samples in the ice box were transferred to the deep freezer. The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. The sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Example - 4

Sub-sampling of sediment @ 0.25 cm interval: Box core sediments @ 0.25 cm interval were required for susceptibility studies. In order to achieve this, small diameter core liner (I. D. = 6 cm) was inserted in the box core containing pelagic sediments from the seabed. The core liner was removed from the box core by inserting rubber stopper at

the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled sub-sampling apparatus. Coupler of appropriate size was fixed on the top of the core liner and the sediment inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 0.75 rotations = 0.25 cm, the steel disk point was rotated 0.75 times downwards from the reference point. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using the rotating slicer or cutter of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-0.25 cm depth. The bag was .sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. From the previous position, the steel disk was then rotated downwards for next 0.75 revolution and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 0.25-0.5 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

In this way, the remaining sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 0.25 cm interval. Thus, 39 cm long sediment core was sub-sampled in to 156 sections @ 0.25 cm interval. Thickness of the sediment sliced was checked sometimes against collapsible scale. At the end, all sub-samples in the ice box were transferred to the deep freezer. The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. The sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Example - 5

Sub-sampling of sediment @ variable interval: Box or spade core sediments of variable interval were required to determine various biological (e.g. meio-faunal/ benthos) parameters studies. In order to achieve this, small diameter core liner (I. D. = 6 cm) was inserted in the box core containing pelagic sediments from the seabed. The core liner was removed from the box core by inserting rubber stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled sub-sampling apparatus. Coupler of appropriate size was fixed on the top of the core liner and the sediment inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 1.5 rotations = 0.5 cm, the steel disk was rotated 1.5 times downwards from the reference point. The

sediment raised above the liner was the sliced or sectioned using the rotatable slicer or cutter of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-0.5 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment.

The steel disk was then rotated further downwards 1.5 times from the last position and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 0.5-1 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment. In this way, the top 2 cm sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 0.5 cm interval for meio-faunal studies.

The steel disk was then rotated downwards 6 times from its last position and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 2-4 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment. By repeating the above steps the remaining sediment in the core liner up to 20 cm depth was further sub- sampled @ 2 cm interval. Later, the steel disk was rotated downwards 15 times from its last position and 5 cm sediment raised above the core liner was cut following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 20-25 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment. By repeating the above steps the remaining sediment in the core liner was further sub-sampled @ 5 cm interval up to the end of the core length.

The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. Thickness of the sediment sliced was occasionally checked against collapsible scale. Totally there were 17 sub-sections of 40 cm sediment core length sub- sampled @ variable cm interval including 4 sections of 0.5 cm interval, 9 of 2 cm interval, and 4 of 5 cm interval. All the 17 sub-samples kept the ice box were processed for preservation and staining of meio and micro fauna. The sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Example - 6

Sub-sampling of sediment @ 2 cm interval from big diameter core liner: Sediments of 2 cm interval were required for geochemical and sedimentological studies. In order to achieve this, few big diameter core liners (I.D.= 12 cm) were inserted in the box / spade core containing pelagic sediments obtained from the seabed. One of the big core liner was removed from the box core by inserting acrylic stopper at their bottom, and by keeping its hole projecting outside it was mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled or being used sub-sampling apparatus by using proper size steel disk. Coupler of appropriate size was then fixed on the top of the core liner. Top surface of the sediment layer inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 6 rotations = 2 cm, the steel disk was rotated 6 times downwards from the reference point. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using the rotating slicer of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-2 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment. The steel disk was then rotated further downwards 6 times and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 2-4 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment.

By this way, all the sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 2 cm interval. There were 21 sub-sections of 41 cm sediment core length sub-sampled @ 2 cm interval. Thickness of the sediment sliced was checked against collapsible scale. The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. Similarly, the sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and fkept ready for reuse. All the 21 sub-samples from the ice box were transferred immediately to the deep freezer.

Example - 7

Sub-sampling of sediment @ variable interval from big diameter core liner for geological studies: Large quantity sediment sub-samples were required for pore water studies @ 2 cm interval from surface to 10 cm depth and @ 5 cm interval from 10 to 20 cm depth. In order to achieve this, a big diameter core liners (I.D.= 12 cm) was selected and removed from the box core by inserting acrylic stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole

projecting outside, and then it was mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled or being used sub-sampling apparatus by using proper size steel disk. Coupler of appropriate size was then fixed on the top of the core liner. The top surface of the sediment inside the core was brought parallel with the top level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 6 rotations = 2 cm, the steel disk from the reference point was rotated 6 times downwards. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using the movable slicer of the coupler. Thickness of the sediment sliced was checked against collapsible scale. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh big polythene bag and labeled as 0-2 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position.

The steel disk was then rotated downwards 6 times and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 2-4 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. In this way, the top sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 2 cm interval up to 10 cm depth. Thus, there were 5 sub-sections up to 10 cm depth @ 2 cm interval. The steel disk from its last potion was then rotated downwards 15 times and the 5 cm sediment raised above the core liner was cut following the previous steps. This sediment section was labeled as 10-15 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. The steel disk was further rotated downwards 15 times from its last potion and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the previous steps. This sediment section was labeled as 15-20 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. In this way, the top sediment in the core liner was sub-sampled @ 5 cm interval from 10 to 20 cm depth. There were 2 sections of 5 cm thickness sediments from 10 to 20 cm depth. Totally there were 7 subsections for sediments up to 20 cm depth.

The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. All the sub-samples kept the ice box were processed for removal of pore water. The sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Example - 8

Sub-sampling of sediment variable interval from big diameter core liner for biological studies: Sediments of variable intervals from box core were required for studying environmentally important biological parameters such as macro-fauna. In order to achieve this, a big diameter core liners (I.D.= 12 cm) was selected and removed from the box core by inserting acrylic stopper at the bottom and by keeping its hole projecting outside, and then it was mounted on the projection of the threaded rod of the already assembled or being used sub-sampling apparatus by using proper size steel disk. Appropriate size coupler was fixed on the top of the core liner. The top surface of the sediment inside the core was brought to top the level of the core liner by rotating the steel disk. Using the calibration 6 rotations = 2 cm, the steel disk from the reference point was rotated 6 times downwards. The sediment raised above the liner was the sliced using the rotating slicer or cutter of the coupler. Sliced sediment was collected in a fresh polythene bag and labeled as 0-2 cm depth. The bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was washed with distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. The steel disk was then rotated further downwards 9 times from the previous position and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 2-5 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. The steel disk was then rotated downwards 15 times from the previous position and the sediment raised above the core liner was sectioned following the steps mentioned above. This sediment section was labeled as 5-10 cm depth and the bag was sealed using rubber band and transferred to ice box. The slicer was then washed distilled water and wiped by tissue paper to remove stains of the sediment, and brought to its original slicing position. Then by repeating the above steps the remaining sediment in the core liner was further sub-sampled @ 5 cm interval up to the end of the core length.

The coupler was removed, washed and kept in tray for reuse. The empty core liner was then removed from the apparatus. It was cleaned and washed with water, and kept ready for reuse. At the end, from this core there was 1 sub-section of 0-2 cm depth, another 1 of 2-5 cm depth, and 7 sub-sections of 5-40 cm depth. Thickness of the sediment sliced was randomly checked against collapsible scale. All the sub-samples

kept the ice box were processed for preservation and staining. The sub-sampling apparatus was checked and sediment stains were removed and kept ready for reuse.

Advantages of the invention: The main advantages of the present invention are:

1. The apparatus of the present invention is fully mechanical to achieve repeatable sectioning of the soft aqueous sediments at desired intervals up to millimeter levels. This is in contrast to other methods in which there is no control on the sectioning intervals, thus making them susceptible to sub-sampling errors. 2. The mechanical control in the present apparatus provides cross sections of sediment from the core liner. This is in contrast to push core and other methods in which there is no control on cross sectioning of the sediments.

3. The design of the apparatus in the present invention allows keeping the core liner vertical without changing physical, mechanical and chemical properties of the sediment in the core liner. This is in contrast to push core method where the core liner is held near horizontal or inclined position in hands, thereby disturbing the sediment properties.

4. The sediment cross section by present apparatus is collected with precision and without contamination, thus ensuring that core logging and other close observations is also possible with no extra efforts. This is not possible in push core method. 5. Being low cost, lightweight (about 9 kg) and not voluminous the apparatus is user friendly and portable, and can be taken to field or on small boat or research vessel, and quickly assembled and or dissembled. This advantage is especially useful for a team of limited manpower.

6. Being simple mechanical apparatus the wear and tear of the parts is minor or negligible, and has very long operational life.

7. No change in orientation of apparatus is required after every sub-sampling operation.

8. The same apparatus is used for slicing the sediments from any diameter of the commercially available acrylic or PVC core liners, and also for geological, chemical, and biological purpose by selecting appropriate size of the steel disk, rubber stopper and coupler.

9. The core liners can be cleaned, washed and reused for number of times, thus saving expenditure on it and becoming environmental friendly.

10. The apparatus occupies very small area (< 1 ² m) for operation. This advantage is especially useful while using the apparatus on small boat or in small laboratory. 11. Being made up of non-magnetic and anti rusting material, the application of apparatus is widened.