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New drill rig successfully employed during sea going expedition
During a FS MERIAN expedition in march the sea floor drill rig MeBo was successfully employed. An article in the journal Scientific Drilling describes the success.
In March this year MARUM`s new sea floor drill rig MeBo (short for: Meeresboden-Bohrgerät) returned from a 17-day-scientific cruise with the German research vessel Maria S. Merian. Four sites between 350 and 1,700 metres water depth were sampled at the continental slope off Morocco by push coring and rotary drilling. Up to 41.5 metres long sediment cores were recovered. In the latest edition of the journal Scientific Drilling Dr. Tim Freudenthal and Prof. Gerold Wefer report about the system that allows high quality sampling from soft sediment and hard rock without relying on the services of expensive drillings vessels. The authors point out that MeBo bridges the gap between conventional sampling methods from standard multipurpose research vessels and drill ships. Since the drill system can be easily transported within 20-feet containers, worldwide operation from vessels of opportunity is possible. For more information you can download the article.
