Twenty 5-cm-long whole rounds were taken adjacent to interstitial water whole rounds, in those sections of the core judged most intact (Table T17). Two samples (5 cm3 each), from pared biscuits where possible, were frozen at -80°C immediately after collection for postcruise ATP quantification and DNA assessment. A total of 0.5-cm3 samples from the same locations were fixed in 2% formalin solution for postcruise cell counting. Twice during coring, 40-mL samples of drilling fluid were collected as the fluid escaped the core liner, and these samples were also frozen promptly at -80°C; evaluation of the drilling fluid will constrain estimates of core contamination in terms of real cell numbers.
The chemical tracer was not deployed during coring in Hole 1254A because the trace element chemistry of the perfluorocarbon tracer could not be certified and was judged possibly deleterious to postcruise pore fluid geochemical assays. This possibility was subsequently clarified and cleared the use of the chemical tracer. Fluorescent microspheres were deployed in every core and counted using epifluorescence microscopy, as described in "Microbiology" in the "Explanatory Notes" chapter. Microsphere counting results are tabulated in Table T17. The results reflect very low to no particulate contamination in the interior of the microbiology whole rounds and document the delivery of microspheres to all except Cores 205-1254A-9R and 16R, albeit in small numbers.