The description of sediments recovered during Leg 187 includes brief macroscopic core descriptions including grain size, lithology, drilling disturbance, color, and estimates of sediment composition based on smear slides. These data were recorded in the shipboard electronic core description archive AppleCORE (version 0.7.5g) using ODP standard nomenclature and symbols throughout.
AppleCORE generated a one-page graphic log (barrel sheet) of each core. Barrel sheets are presented with electronic links to core photographs (see the "Core Descriptions" contents list). For Leg 187, grain size was recorded as a strip log, lithologies are represented by graphic lithology patterns, and deformation and disturbance of sediment that resulted from the coring process are illustrated in the "Drilling Disturbance" column, according to ODP convention. Blank regions in this column indicate the absence of visible drilling disturbance. Smear-slide locations are also given on the barrel sheets. Color was determined where distinct color changes were observed using a handheld Minolta CM-2002 spectrophotometer and translated to text terms using standard Munsell color charts (Munsell Color Company, Inc., 1975; Rock-Color Chart Committee, 1991). A summary of the sedimentologic observations is given in the "Description" column of the barrel sheet. It consists of a heading in capital letters that lists only the dominant lithologies and a general description of the sediments, including color, composition, and any other general features of note.