Sea Trials Transit

Daily Science Report for 21 February 2009

LOCATION: In transit to Honolulu, Hawaii

SCIENCE UPDATE: Readiness assessment and acceptance testing activities continue. Cores 320T-U1330B-1H to 5H were fully processed using the whole round and section half petrophysics tracks, the core splitting and sampling rooms, and the section half digital imaging track. The core sections were visually described using the DESClogik application. Core sediments consist of light gray to white nannofossil ooze with foraminifers, locally grading to foraminifer nannofossil ooze. The latter lithology dominates uppermost Core 1H which is noticeably browner in color owing to a higher concentration of marine organic matter. Traces of siliceous microfossils (radiolarians, silicoflagelates, diatoms) are present. Moderate to slightly burrowed horizons. The studied sedimentary section spans the Holocene to the latest Pliocene (0 and ~2 Ma) based on planktonic foraminifer biostratigraphy. Logging activities encompassed general maintenance of the Wireline Heave Compensator, performance documentation and analysis of the suite of logging data collected at Hole U1330A.

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Ship highlight of the day: Paleontology Prep Lab

The Paleontology lab is used to process samples for the identification of microfossils that are needed to date the recovered core.
Paleontology Prep Lab panorama (Quicktime VR). Click and drag to pan around. Use the Shift and Control keys to zoom in and out.

See iodp.tamu.edu/labs/ship.html for more details on the ship's new laboratories.