During Leg 201, the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) was deployed 17 times (1) to evaluate the operational range of the tool in different lithologies and water depths and (2) to determine gas volumes at multiple depths at Site 1230 in the Peru Trench. Of these runs, 11 were entirely successful, collecting between 0.50 and 1.00 m of sediment core at >75% of hydrostatic pressure, and 4 were partly successful, collecting either between 0.50 and 1.00 m of sediment core or retrieving the tool at >75% of hydrostatic pressure. The successfully retrieved cores came from a broad spectrum of lithologies between 22 and 378 meters below seafloor (mbsf), although generally from deeper water depths. Cores retrieved from Site 1230 released between 200 and 6100 mL of gas, mostly CH4, and can be used to construct a gas concentration profile from the seafloor to nearly 280 mbsf. Operations during Leg 201 suggest that the tool can be deployed for scientific pursuits in a variety of settings.
1Dickens, G.R., Schroeder, D., Hinrichs, K.-U., and the Leg 201 Scientific Party, 2003. The pressure core sampler (PCS) on ODP Leg 201: general operations and gas release. In D'Hondt, S.L., Jørgensen, B.B., Miller, D.J., et al. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 201 [Online]. Available from the World Wide Web: <http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/201_IR/chap_03/chap_03.htm>. [Cited YYYY-MM-DD]
2Department of Earth Science, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston TX 77005, USA. jerry@rice.edu
3Ocean Drilling Program, Texas A&M University, 1000 Discovery Drive, College Station TX 77845-9547, USA.
4Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA 02543, USA.
5Research Center for Ocean Margins (RCOM), University of Bremen, PO Box 330 440, D-28334 Bremen, Germany.
6Shipboard Scientific Party addresses.
Ms 201IR-103