As required by safety regulations, headspace gas analyses were performed immediately upon recovery of each sediment core at Site 1097. Inorganic carbon concentrations were measured on 23 samples, and elemental analyses were performed on a subset of nine samples.

As a routine procedure for safety and pollution prevention, hydrocarbon gases were monitored while coring Hole 1097A. Methane concentrations varied from 1500 to 76,000 ppm, and ethane concentrations varied from 0 to 14 ppm. Trace amounts of propane and ethylene were also measured in some samples (Table T3). Methane concentrations are similar to those obtained from comparable depths at Site 1096, whereas ethane concentrations are lower, resulting in a higher methane:ethane ratio. With regard to safety and pollution, the risk from coring was negligible at Site 1097.

In intervals of relatively good recovery, one sample per core was analyzed for inorganic carbon (Table T4). Sediment with a high content of coarse sand and gravel was sieved through a 710-µm mesh before analysis. The sediment at Site 1097 consists of alternating glaciomarine, subglacial, and reworked sequences, on the basis of lithofacies and biofacies (see "Biostratigraphy"  and "Lithostratigraphy"). Calcium carbonate concentrations vary over a low and relatively narrow range from 0.4 to 1.1 wt%. The upper interval (80-150 mbsf) of subglacial sediment shows somewhat scattered carbonate concentrations (Fig. F20). The glaciomarine facies of the middle interval (170-230 mbsf) corresponds to low carbonate concentrations and may reflect enhanced carbonate dissolution. Carbonate data from the lower interval (270-390 mbsf) do not vary much between the alternating glaciomarine and subglacial lithofacies identified in the lithostratigraphy; however, slightly higher carbonate values in this interval may indicate less dissolution and higher local productivity of shallow-water calcareous organisms. In fact, the highest carbonate value corresponds to a glaciomarine facies that also contains the highest abundance of foraminifers.

Nine samples from the glaciomarine intervals were selected for elemental analyses of total organic carbon. Measured concentrations (Table T4) vary from 0.16 to 0.61 wt%, with the highest values occurring in the middle interval (170-230 mbsf).