The Box Corer Imaging System: A low-cost solution for in-situ seafloor imaging and sampling.

Sediment sampling of the seafloor, especially with a box corer, is an important aspect of marine geology and sedimentology. The sediment surface recovered by this tool, however, is of limited extend (10s of cm only) and might be disturbed thru the sampling process. The Box corer Imaging System (BOXIS) is an addon for the box corer allowing for high resolution video recording of the sampling process. It attaches to the box corer main frame and adds lights, batteries and a camera. The system can be adapted to a variety of sampling devices. Its main objective is to capture video of the sample area before and after the sampling of which images can be extracted. The recording is extracted after the sampling process, when the tool is on deck. The system is equipped with LED lights featuring a total of 7000 lumens and built-in redundancy. The separate light units are connected via cable to their corresponding battery unit featuring a custom timer and magnetic activation switch. The special camera housing features a popular action camera recording at 5.3K resolution (19.6 Mpx). The camera field of view features a wide, undistorted, unobstructed view looking down. As a benefit of the camera position, depending on visibility it is possible to gather images from up to 10 m above the seafloor conveying a broader context down to close-ups 25 cm from the seafloor. The BOXIS system is rated to a maximum operation depth of 1750 m. The BOXIS footage can be examined instantly over a wireless connection on a mobile device once the box corer is back on deck to evaluate sampling quality and support discussion and decision making on the proceeding of further sampling operations. Large batteries ensured multiple deployments in a row without service. Even in cases where the box corer does not trigger, the BOXIS provides data not only of the seafloor but also on operational problems such as sediment penetration. It is a system with a minimum of cabling, which therefore is not endangered to interact with the hoisting equipment used for lowering and lifting of the normally analog gear.

The BOXIS system has been successfully deployed for the first time on FS SONNE cruise SO292 in spring 2022 to the Queensland plateau, Australia. In total we could record a total of 27 deployments without a single failure. We will present the BOXIS system based on examples from these successful deployments.