IODP Expedition 320
Pacific Equatorial Age Transect 1
Daily Science Report for 30 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii; At 2400 hr, 13°22.6'N, 142°38.7'W
SCIENCE UPDATE: All site reports finished. Expedition Summary being produced. Backups underway, shipments being prepared, lab cleaning started.
Daily Science Report for 29 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii; At 2400 hr, 11°45.4'N, 138°29.7'W
SCIENCE UPDATE: Site U1336 reports nearly finished; Expedition Summary being produced. Initiating data backups, preparing sample shipments. Post-cruise research planning meetings taking place. Tee-shirt logo pressing party successfully completed.
Daily Science Report for 28 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii; At 2400 hr, 10°08.7'N, 134°24.8'W
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1336B: all samples processed. Site U1335 reports finished; Site U1336 reports in progress; Expedition Summary being produced. Initiating data backups, preparing sample shipments.
Daily Science Report for 27 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii; At 2400 hr, 8°25.3'N, 130°04.1'W
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1336B: Finished processing cores through whole-round track systems. Remaining core processing and data collection will be conducted by second half of PEAT program science team during Expedition 321. Core lab is finished processing cores and final samples being processed by individual labs. Held Site U1335 science meeting. Reports: Site U1335 reports mostly finished; Site U1336 reports in progress; Expedition Summary being produced.
Daily Science Report for 26 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii; At 2400 hr, 7°42.0'N, 128°15.2'W
SCIENCE UPDATE:
Hole U1336A (PEAT-5C): Cores U1336A-30X to 35X have been split and are early Oligocene nannofossil chalk with frequent <5 cm-thick chert layers.
Hole U1336B: Processing cores through whole-round track systems.
Daily Science Report for 25 April 2009
LOCATION: Site U1336 (PEAT-5C). 7°42.08'N, 128°15.25'W; 4287 mbsl
SCIENCE UPDATE:
Hole U1336A (PEAT-5C): Cores U1336A-16H to 29X have been split and are nannofossil chalk with frequent <5 cm-thick chert layers.
Hole U1336B: Cores U1336B-1H to 20H taken from 0 to 173.9 m, recovered 179.6 m (103%); offset 5 m shallower than Hole U1336A. Achieved complete section down to ~80 m, and nearly complete section to total depth of Hole U1336B. Final Expedition 320 core arrived on deck at 0050, 26 April. Estimated departure for Honolulu is 1400, 26 April.
Daily Science Report for 24 April 2009
LOCATION: Site U1336 (PEAT-5C). 7°42.075'N, 128°15.254'W; 4285 mbsl
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1336A (PEAT-5C): Cores U1336A-22X to 35X taken from 184.4 to 302.9 m, recovered 69.0 m (58%); age extends from late to early Oligocene. Cores U1336A-1H to 15H have been split and are nannofossil ooze. Coring stopped before reaching basement due to slow rate of penetration (4 m/hr). Final Expedition 320 operations will be to APC core Hole U1336B to obtain complete Miocene section at this site. Coring will stop by 0400, 26 April.
Daily Science Report for 23 April 2009
LOCATION: Site U1336 (PEAT-5C). 7°42.075'N, 128°15.254'W; 4285 mbsl
SCIENCE UPDATE: Finished processing Site U1335 cores.
Hole U1336 (PEAT-5C) Cores 1H to 21H taken from 0 to 184.4 m, recovered 188.9 m (103%); Cores 22X to 23X taken from 184.4 to 202. 4 m, recovered 15.7 m (90%). Cores not yet split; core-catcher ages extend from late Miocene (Section U1336A-1H-CC) to late Oligocene (Section U1336A-19H-CC).
Daily Science Report for 22 April 2009
LOCATION: Site U1336 (PEAT-5C). 7°42.075'N, 128°15.254'W; 4285 mbsl
SCIENCE UPDATE: Arrived at Site U1336 (PEAT-5C) at 1552 hr. Began assembling drill string in preparation for coring. Continue processing Site U1335 cores.
Daily Science Report for 21 April 2009
LOCATION: End Hole U1335B (PEAT-6C). In transit to Site U1336 (PEAT-5C).
SCIENCE UPDATE: After recovering a nice Miocene section with nearly
complete recovery and overlap between the two holes, we have decided to
not core a third hole at Site U1335. Instead we will use our remaining
operations time to core the first hole at Site PEAT-5C. This will
provide the second PEAT expedition (321) more information for optimizing
their coring plan.
Daily Science Report for 20 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1335B (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°17.011'W (4328 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE:
Hole U1335A: Cores U1335A-38X through 45X have been split — they are dominated by white and light grayish green nannofossil chalk and nannofossill foraminiferal chalk grading downward to white to pale yellow nannofossil chalk. Oldest age is late Oligocene (NP25).
Hole U1335B: Cores U1335B-32H to 41H taken from 288.3 to 378.2 m, recovered 83.6 m (93%). Cores 42X to 46X taken from 378.2 to 417.5 m, recovered 36.0 m (92%); coring ended when basalt recovered in Core 46X. Cores U1335B-1H to 20H have been split — lithologies and ages similar to first hole and span gaps in core recovery of the first hole.
Daily Science Report for 19 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1335B (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°17.011'W (4328 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE:
Hole U1335A: Cores U1335A-26H through 37X have been split — they are dominated by nannofossil foraminerferal ooze; occasional (~1 to 3 per core) graded beds (turbidites) with sharp basal contacts; early Miocene to latest Oligocene.
Hole U1335B: Cores U1335B-12H to 31H taken from 98.3 to 288.3 m, recovered 186.9 m (98%). Good overlap with gaps in between cores in the first hole.
Daily Science Report for 18 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1335B (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°17.011'W (4328 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1335A: Cores 37X to 45X taken from 341.4 to 421.1 m, recovered 67.9 m (85%); extends from Miocene-Oligocene boundary in Core 37X to late Oligocene in base of hole. Cores U1335A-11H through 25H have been split — they are dominated by light greenish grey, nannofossil ooze; occasional (~1 to 2 per core) graded-beds (turbidites) with sharp basal contacts and rip up clasts that include basalt fragments. We stopped coring in Hole U1335A after it took ~1 hr to penetrate 3 m during Core U1335A-45X and the bit came back extremely worn down.
Hole U1335B coring started 25 m to the west and vertically offset to span the core gaps from the first hole. Cores U1335B-1H to 11H taken from 0 to 98.3 m, recovered 102.8 m (105%).
Daily Science Report for 17 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1335A (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°16.997'W (4331 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1335A: Cores 24H to 36H taken from 217.9 to 341.4 m, recovered 130.0 m (105%), Miocene. Cores 37X to 42X taken from 341.4 to 398.8 m, recovered 47.1 m (82%); Miocene-Oligocene boundary appears to be in Core 37X. Cores 1H to 10H have been split and are alternating white, brown, and gray nannofossil ooze (varying amounts of clay, foraminifers, radiolarians), Core 8H and below are pale yellow/white and light grayish green nannofossil ooze with very low magnetic susceptibility signal.
Daily Science Report for 16 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1335A (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°16.997'W (4331 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Nearly finished processing Hole U1334C cores. Hole U1335A: Cores 1H to 23H taken from 0 to 217.9 m, recovered 214.7 m (103%); Plio-Pleistocene to mid-Oligocene; none yet split.
Daily Science Report for 15 April 2009
LOCATION: In Transit, Arrive Site U1335 (PEAT-6C). 05°18.736'N, 126°16.997'W (4331 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Continue processing Hole U1334C cores. Arrived at Site U1335 (1630 hr) and prepared for coring. Held Site U1334 science meeting.
Daily Science Report for 14 April 2009
LOCATION: In Transit to Site U1335 (PEAT-6C)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Continue processing Hole U1334C cores.
Daily Science Report for 13 April 2009
LOCATION: Finish Site U1334, In Transit to Site U1335 (PEAT-6C)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Retrieve logging tool string; continue processing Hole U1334C cores; finishing site reports for Site U1333.
Daily Science Report for 12 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334C (PEAT-4C); 7°59.999'N, 131°58.423'W (4790 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1334C recovered Cores U1334C-31X to 33X, penetrated 3 m (277.7 to 280.7 m), and recovered 0.47 m (16%); limestone with basalt clasts. Continue processing the cores from Hole U1334C. Started downhole logging but winch failed while running in with first tool string.
Daily Science Report for 11 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334C (PEAT-4C); 7°59.999'N, 131°58.423'W (4790 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Hole U1334C recovered Cores U1334C-10H to 22H and 23X to 30X from 85.5 to 277.7 m; recovered 195.8 m (102%). Continue processing the cores from Holes U1334B and U1334C. Lithology and ages similar to the first hole. Good stratigraphic coverage provided by excellent recovery in three holes. Downhole logging to be conducted in Hole U1334C upon completion of coring.
Daily Science Report for 10 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334C (PEAT-4C); 7°59.999'N, 131°58.423'W (4790 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1334A-26X to 32X have been split and described — nannofossil chalk, clayey nannofossil chalk with radiolarians, radiolarian claystone, nannofossil chalk, and micritic nannofossil chalk. Basal sequence recovered limestone and basalt.
Hole U1334B recovered Cores U1334B-25X to 31X from 224.9 to 281.7 m and recovered 56.8 m (101%).
Hole U1334C recovered Cores U1334C-1H to 9H from 0 to 85.5 m and recovered 87.1 m (102%). Cored intervals in this third hole are targeting gaps in core recovery from the first two holes. Initial results indicate we have recovered a complete section down to ~300 m.
Conducted initial test of the seismic source in preparation for planned logging operations in Hole U1334C.
Daily Science Report for 9 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334B (PEAT-4C); 7°59.998'N, 131°58.409'W (4788 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1334A-18H to 25XH have been split and described — nannofossil ooze grading downhole into nannofossil chalk. At Hole U1334B, we cored Cores U1334B-1H to 24X from 0 to 234.5 m and recovered 247.8 m (106%).
Daily Science Report for 8 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334A (PEAT-4C); 7°59.998'N, 131°58.394'W (4788 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1334A-8H to 17H have been split and described — all nannofossil ooze. Cores U1334A-23X to 32X taken from 206.9 to 285.5 m, recovered 77.9 m (99%); Early Oligocene to latest middle Eocene. Coring in Hole U1334A stopped after basalt recovered in Core U1334A-32X. After moving 25 m west of Hole U1334A, coring at Hole U1334B started 5 m deeper to cover core gaps from first hole.
Daily Science Report for 7 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1334A (PEAT-4C); 7°59.999'N, 131°58.396'W (4788 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1334A-1H to 22H taken from 0 to 206.0 m, recovered 212.1 m (103%); Miocene to early Oligocene. Cores 1H to 7H have been split and grade downhole from clay with micronodules and radiolarians to nannofossil and radiolarian oozes.
Daily Science Report for 6 April 2009
LOCATION: Arrived Site U1334 (PEAT-4C) at 1222 hr; 7°59.999'N, 131°58.396'W (4788 mbsl).
SCIENCE UPDATE: Finished analyzing cores from Hole U1333C. Site U1333 science meeting held to discuss preliminary results. Arrived Site U1334 (PEAT-4C), assembled and lowered drill string in preparation for coring. Hump day (halfway point for being at sea) celebrated with Pirates of the Paleo-Equatorial Pacific theme party.
Daily Science Report for 5 April 2009
LOCATION: In transit to Site U1334 (PEAT-4C)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Continue analyzing cores from Holes U1333B and U1333C.
Daily Science Report for 4 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1333C (PEAT-3C),10°30.99'N, 138°25.15'W (4850 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Coring completed at Site U1333. Start transit to Site U1334 (PEAT-4C).
Daily Science Report for 3 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1333C (PEAT-3C),10°30.99'N, 138°25.15'W (4850 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1333C-3H to 21H from 11.1 to 163.2 m (recovered 164.4 m; 108%) and 22X-23X from 163.2 to 176.0 m (recovered 0.6 m; 5%). No chert in first hole, so we could APC core much deeper in Holes U1333B and U1333C. Recovered a complete composite section to ~150 m that extends to below the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.
Daily Science Report for 2 April 2009
LOCATION: Hole U1333C (PEAT-3C),10°30.99'N, 138°25.15'W (4850 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1333A-18X to 20X grade downcore from radiolarian nannofossil chalk, radiolarite with clay and nannofossils, to radiolarian clay, to nannofossil chalk, and nannofossil chalk with dolerite; middle Eocene. Core 21X contained a 5-cm long piece of limestone containing basalt cobbles with chilled margins and some glassy texture; Core 22X recovered a 6-cm long piece of basalt. Offset 25 m east of Hole U1333A and spud Hole U1333B. APC Cores U1333B-1H to 18H cored 0 to 162.7 m DSF and 19X-20X cored from 162.7 to 180.3 m; total recovery is 179.9 m (99.7%). Offset 25 m east of Hole U1333B and spud Hole U1333C. First two cores cored from 0 to 11.1 m DSF, recovered 11.7 m (105%). APC coring continues to span gaps in first two holes and provide sufficient material for postcruise science.
Daily Science Report for 1 April 2009
LOCATION: Site U1333 (PEAT-3C),10°30.99'N, 138°25.16'W (4850 mbsl)
SCIENCE UPDATE: Cores U1333A-18X to 22X cored 158.4 to 184.1 m DSF, recovered 14.91 m (58%); Cores 13X to 16X have been split and grade downcore from radiolarian nannofossil ooze to nannofossil ooze to radiolarite to nannofossil radiolarite to radiolarian nannofossil chalk; late to middle Eocene.