Abstract
We developed a portable extruder for precise and accurate high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores. This extruder is capable of producing subsamples at a minimum 1-mm resolution and is designed for easy operation and maintenance in the field. Movement of the threaded extruder rod (½” 8 start acme thread) through the core barrel is driven by a crank wheel graduated in 1-mm increments. This extruder design is particularly useful for obtaining incremental subsamples for applications where high-resolution subsamples of identical size are required (e.g. time series analysis, climate variability, land use change, contamination), and for use in field settings where it is impractical to deploy a freeze corer.
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Acknowledgements
This contribution is dedicated to the memory of John Glew, whose innovative sediment corer, extruder and other instrument designs are widely used by paleolimnologists worldwide, and whose corers and extruders inspired development of this new design. We thank the staff of the Science Technology Centre (STC) at Carleton University for assistance with the design and manufacture of the extruder. We acknowledge David Singer and Calder Patterson for demonstrating how the extruder works under field conditions in Fig. 5. We are appreciative of the input of two anonymous reviewers whose constructive comments greatly improved the contribution. Cost of design and fabrication of this core extruder was supported by NSERC Discovery (#RGPIN05329) and NRCan Clean Technology (#CGP-17-0704) Grants to RTP, and ArcticNet Grant P51 to JMG. This contribution represents NRCan Contribution Number 20200574.
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Patterson, R.T., Nasser, N.A., Tremblay, S. et al. A portable extruder for accurate and precise high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores. J Paleolimnol 67, 183–189 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-021-00203-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-021-00203-y