When the target is soft sediment that would be considerably altered by the rotation of the drill bit, water pressure is used to drive the hydraulic
piston corer developed by DSDP through the bit and into the sediment.
This technique's potential was first demonstrated, during DSDP's Leg 64 in 1970, when the prototype hydraulic
piston corer, brought aboard Glomar Challenger halfway through the cruise, performed spectacularly well in recovering laminated sediments in perfect condition at Site 480 in the Gulf of California.
The ice-rafted debris stratigraphy was reasonably dear in these regions, but use of the hydraulic
piston corer in the late 1970s along with improved resolution of the biostratigraphy, oxygen-isotope stratigraphy, and magnetic-reversal stratigraphy were needed before the timing of glacial onset could be determined precisely.
To efficiently conduct survey research of ocean floor resources, it will be capable of operating such state-of-the-art equipment as a seismic research system for investigating crustal structure, large
piston corers and a seafloor-mounted excavator for collecting seabed samples, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).
