🌿 Sampling of bottom sediments (unconsolidated and consolidated) from rivers, streams, natural and man-made lakes and estuaries including harbours for chemical, physical, biological and microbiological investigation — choice of sampling site (GPS, sonars, sedimentation conditions) and point, choice of sampler by sediment type (gravel, sand, clay, mud, peat), grabs (van Veen, Ekman, Ponar, Shipek) and corers, influence of meteorological conditions, tides, flow, depth (manual up to 4 m), navigation and macrophytes, composite samples, container materials, storage and transport; ISO 5667-12:2017

Environment ISO 5667-12

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. We read the text of the standard in the iTeh sample of ISO 5667-12:2017 (second edition, English text): contents, foreword, introduction, Clauses 1–4 and Clause 5 up to 5.2 (with the beginning of Table 2) — the sample ends on page 9. We do not read the rest of Table 2, corers (5.3, Table 3), the sampling procedure (6: container materials and types, composite samples), storage, transport and stabilization (7), safety (8), identification and records (9) or Annexes A–M (descriptions of the van Veen grab, piston drill, diver corer, Beeker sampler, sealed core sampler, wedge core drill, gravity corer, Jenkins sampler, Craib corer, piston corer, peat borers, freeze coring and sampler with slicing mechanism); we know the titles from the contents.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF ISO 5667-12:2017. The standard was prepared by ISO/TC 147 “Water quality”, Subcommittee SC 6 “Sampling (general methods)”. The second edition replaces the first (ISO 5667-12:1995). Introduction: to be read together with ISO 5667-1 and ISO 5667-15; terminology according to ISO 6107 (especially ISO 6107-2). Scope (1): guidance on sampling unconsolidated sediments for geological, physical and chemical properties and for biological, microbiological and chemical properties at the water–sediment interface; cores for measuring deposition rates and detailed strata delineation; limnic environments (rivers, streams, natural and man-made lakes) and estuaries including harbours; excluded — sludges from industrial and sewage works, paleolimnological sampling and open ocean sediments (ISO 5667-15) and suspended solids (ISO 5667-17). References (2): ISO 5667-1, ISO 5667-15. Definitions (3): composite sample (portions from the same stratum or depth; from different strata — depending on the objective), core blockage (friction, stone, full tube), descriptive mapping, monitoring, sediment (mineral and organic solid material deposited on the bottom of a water body), sediment quality (e.g. in assessing harbour sediment due to be dredged), sampling site and sampling point, uncertainty arising from sampling, unconsolidated sediments (loose). Strategy (4.1): temporal and spatial monitoring, impact assessments (harbour deepening, wind farms), mapping of sediment distribution, assessing sediment quality before dredging, benthic organisms, fundamental research. Types of investigation (4.2): chemical — substances bound to the sediment and in pore water; a metal sampler may contaminate by abrasion and reactions (e.g. with sulfides, phosphates), a plastic one may leach substances (e.g. dispersants) or adsorb compounds; quality control is agreed with the laboratory; some parameters (e.g. sulfides) need an oxygen-free atmosphere, inert gas, a glove box and rapid analysis; physical — structure, texture, particle size, layering; biological — species and numbers of flora and fauna, usually in the habitat layer (most in the top 10 cm), according to ISO 16665 and ISO 10870; microbial processes (denitrification, phosphate release, methylation of mercury or tin). Site (4.3): choice of the site and the precise point; remote sensing (echosounders, multibeam, side-scan sonars) to check the bed, EN 16260 for visual surveys; GPS to record points; criteria — good sedimentation conditions (e.g. reduced flow), accessibility (tides, season), marine traffic, bed heterogeneity. Point (4.4): depends on the purpose — for mapping on flow, for contamination on bed conditions (e.g. anthropogenic metals would not be expected in a riffle but in a pool); the number of points statistically representative; in rivers and estuaries sediments go through deposition and resuspension cycles, so layers may not reflect history — age determination is recommended; composite samples reduce costs and give regional averages; for organisms — multiple random sites or stratified random sampling. Method (4.5, Table 1): undisturbed sample (strata, water–sediment interface) or disturbed sample from the surface (morphological, chemical examination); for low-level pesticides — PTFE liners in piston and tube samplers; gravel — grabs (heavier for large particles); sand — grabs and corers, hard to penetrate; clay — rather a corer; mud — both, avoiding over-penetration; peat — manual corer or peat borer; the choice may require experimentation; consolidated sediment — grab or corer, with a grab the penetration depth is hard to determine; unconsolidated — grabs not suitable (they sink), corers better, frame with large plates on the feet, free-fall samplers not suitable. Frequency (4.6): requires a defined tolerable error; changes in sediments are slower than in water; the frequency must not coincide with a natural cycle; floods alter sediment structure; e.g. weekly sampling below a discharge gives no different data from half-yearly sampling. Conditions (4.7): meteorological (wind, waves, work on ice with safety priority, heated tents), tides (sampling at low water, on dried-out sandbanks with a spade, as for soils according to ISO 18400-102), flow (periods of low water, locks), standing waters (below 4 m — manual equipment, above — mechanically lowered), geology (preliminary survey), navigation (in harbour entrances and waterways — quick manual equipment), macrophytes (clearing the bed disturbs the water–sediment interface and affects e.g. pore water nutrients), statistics (ISO 5667-1, ISO 2602, ISO 2854). Equipment (5.1–5.2): grabs and corers; in shallow water — a scoop, without mixing layers; grabs (e.g. van Veen — scissor) give disturbed samples, Ekman — less disturbed; penetration from 5 cm to several decimetres; risk of losing the fine fraction and the top layer; unsuitable for peat, clays and gravel in fast currents; Table 2: manual grabs 0–10 cm, 0–20 m water; mechanical (van Veen, Day, Smith-MacIntyre, Birge-Ekman, Ponar) 0–30 cm, 5–200 m; Shipek 0–10 cm, 5–200 m — no pore water, with a safety line and marker float.

STATUS (as of 03.10.2026). The PKN search engine (queries “5667-12”, “PN-ISO 5667-12”, “PN-EN ISO 5667-12”, 03.10.2026) — “No search results”; laboratories cite the ISO document. We did not read the status of ISO 5667-12:2017 in the iTeh catalogue; the iTeh search results (read 03.10.2026) list ISO 5667-12:1995, ISO 5667-12:2017 and SIST ISO 5667-12:2018.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read 03.10.2026). The number 5667-12 appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories: AB 213 and AB 362. In the current PCA documents (read 03.10.2026; AB 213 issue no. 28 of 17.04.2026, AB 362 issue no. 28 of 16.07.2026) the number appears at the same 2 laboratories; in every document the number of page markers equals the number of PDF pages, without repetitions; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from BIP on 03.10.2026 found no laboratories outside the database copy. The form “ISO 5667-12:2017” at both; at AB 362 together with PN-EN ISO 5667-19:2006. None of these items is suspended. The “Laboratories” tab (query “ISO 5667-12”) shows both laboratories — checked by a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 03.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (items in PCA). AB 213 and AB 362: bottom sediments — sampling for chemical and physical testing.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. Metal or plastic sampler: the sampler may introduce contamination (abrasion, reactions with sulfides and phosphates) or leach or adsorb compounds — the effect must be checked with the laboratory (4.2.2). Grab: van Veen gives a disturbed sample and risks losing the fine fraction and the top layer — and some substances bind preferentially to small mineral particles and organic matter (4.2.2, 5.2). Unconsolidated sediments: grabs sink, and free-fall samplers are not suitable (4.5.3); Table 1, however, allows grab and corer for mud “avoiding over-penetration”, and Table 2 lists grabs for unconsolidated sediments, so the choice must be justified by conditions. Anaerobic conditions: contact with air changes e.g. sulfides — inert gas and rapid analysis are needed (4.2.2). Point: riffles and pools of the same river give different results for metals (4.4, Note). Interpreting history: in rivers and estuaries resuspension moves the layers (4.4). Statistical assessment: without a defined tolerable error a statistical programme is impossible (4.6). Guidance: the standard gives guidance, not a single procedure — compliance means a documented choice of site, sampler and conditions.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We do not quote the descriptions of corers, the sampling procedure, container materials, storage and transport, safety rules or details of the annexes — they lie outside the sample. We do not summarize ISO 5667-1, ISO 5667-15, ISO 5667-17, ISO 5667-19, ISO 16665, ISO 10870, ISO 18400-102 or EN 16260 in this entry. We do not give criteria for assessing sediment or dredged material quality.

Method principle

A bottom sediment sample is taken at a point chosen according to the purpose of the investigation (chemical, physical, biological) and the bed conditions, with a sampler matched to the sediment type and depth: a grab — when a disturbed sample from the surface layer is sufficient — or a corer — when strata and the water–sediment interface must be preserved. The choice is influenced by weather, tides, flow, navigation and vegetation; samples may be single or composite, and their storage is to limit changes from in situ conditions.

Applications

• Unconsolidated sediments of rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries including harbours — geological, physical, chemical, biological investigation (1)
• Monitoring, impact assessments (harbour deepening, wind farms), assessment of dredged material, sediment mapping (4.1)
• Cores for measuring deposition rates and strata delineation (1)
• Bottom sediments — sampling for chemical and physical testing — 2 accreditation scope records of 2 laboratories in PCA

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

ISO 5667-12:2017

Title (PL)

Jakość wody — Pobieranie próbek — Część 12: Wytyczne dotyczące pobierania próbek osadów dennych z rzek, jezior i obszarów estuariowych

Title (EN)

Water quality — Sampling — Part 12: Guidance on sampling of bottom sediments from rivers, lakes and estuarine areas

Step-by-step procedure

1. Purpose and strategy

   Type of investigation, tolerable error, frequency (4.1, 4.2, 4.6). ISO 5667-12:2017 — no PN (PKN, 03.10.2026).

2. Site and point

   Bed survey, GPS, sedimentation and accessibility criteria; representative number of points (4.3, 4.4).

3. Choice of sampler

   According to sediment type, depth and conditions (4.5, 4.7, Tables 1 and 2).

4. Sampling

   Grab or corer; composite samples if appropriate (5; Clause 6 outside the sample).

5. Storage and records

   Limiting changes, transport, identification (7, 9 — outside the sample).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Safety takes priority when working on ice, at low water and on waterways, and local regulations apply; with mechanical samplers — a line with a marker float (4.7.2, 4.7.3, Table 2); Clause 8 outside the sample

Frequently asked questions