UK-based Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) has released a new camera system designed to be mounted to deep sea sediment corers.

The self-contained system will allow users to record the corer deployment and review the footage on recovery of the corer to check the system has deployed correctly, aid analysis of the sample and re-deployment of the corer, and offer a laser ranged view of the sediment itself via a graticule scale, the company explained.

The camera is attached to the corer and can be programmed at the surface to turn on and begin recording at a specific depth via a pressure switch, and records until retrieved to the same depth.

The system is equipped with an internal power pack that enables recording on repeated deployments to obtain up to an hour of footage. The camera is equipped with variable powered lights that can either be fixed to the side of the camera, or positioned elsewhere via umbilicals to allow adjustments to be made for visibility. The standard housing is rated to 6000m.