We recovered one wash core from Hole 1156B (Core 187-1156B-1W; 0.0-181.6 mbsf). However, since hole conditions allowed no new penetration into basement at Hole 1156A (see "Operations"), we had moved to Hole 1156B without retrieving the core barrel. There is no way to determine if the material recovered in the wash barrel was from Hole 1156A, 1156B, or both. All the sediment recovered in the wash barrel is siliceous pelagic clay, with no evidence of calcareous material. Most is pervasively drilling disturbed, but an interval near the top of Core 187-1156B-1W is packed medium dark brown clay. In Section 187-1156B-1W-1, there are three irregularly shaped pieces, several centimeters in size, of clay in varying colors embedded in the dark brown clay matrix. From 35 to 38 cm is a dark grayish brown subangular fragment of indurated clay. From 39 to 42 cm is an oblate spheroid of light brown clay, and from 47 to 52 cm is a ball of very dark grayish brown clay. A smear slide from the matrix contains brown clay, rare 2- to 10-µm fragments of subangular to subrounded brown, translucent volcanic glass; 40-µm laths of plagioclase; and smaller (~20 µm) shards of colorless, low-birefringent minerals. There are also abundant fragments of siliceous microfossils. A smear slide from the light brown ovoid clay interval contains very light brown to colorless clay-sized fragments, rare 40-µm fragments of brown volcanic glass, and 10-µm colorless but highly birefringent crystal shards. A smear slide from the very dark grayish brown sphere of embedded clay contains brown clay, abundant siliceous microfossil fragments, and rare brown volcanic glass shards up to 90 µm across.
All of Section 187-1156B-1W-2 is soupy to highly drilling disturbed, but the matrix is similar in appearance to the dark brown clay matrix in Section 187-1156B-1W-1. There are abundant millimeter-sized pellets of clay. From 25 to 29 cm is a light-brown ball of clay similar in appearance to the light-brown ovoid interval in Section 187-1156B-1W-1. From 56 to 60 cm in Section 187-1156B-1W-2 is an interval with abundant millimeter-sized basaltic fragments. These fragments become less abundant toward the bottom of the section (93 cm).
Five pieces of basalt of unknown origin were also recovered in the wash barrel. Two small pieces at the top of the core must be retained from Hole 1156A since there were no drilling indications of hard material as we washed through the sediments at Hole 1156B. Three pieces of basalt with variable phenocryst modes were recovered from the bottom of the core barrel. One of these pieces had a veneer of lithified sediment similar to material recovered from Hole 1156A (see "Igneous Petrology"), but similar lithologies were also recovered from Hole 1156B. Although it seems likely that these are from Hole 1156B, we cannot be certain that the entire wash core is not from Hole 1156A.