Appendix D: Leg-Specific Sampling Strategy Guidelines⁴³

Development of the leg-specific Sampling Strategy begins in the initial stages of leg planning, when ODP drilling proposals are written and submitted to the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) Office. At this stage, proponents will develop a draft Sampling Strategy that will fulfill the scientific objectives of the leg.

Once a proposal has been scheduled for drilling by JOIDES and Co-Chiefs have been selected, the SAC will write a formal, leg-specific Sampling Strategy for publication in the ODP Scientific Prospectus series. The ODP Director and the Deputy Director will review the Scientific Prospectus before it is published. This will give them an opportunity to advise on sampling issues pertaining to the broader (non-leg-specific) community.

The Sampling Strategy will meet the specific objectives of the leg. The Sampling Strategy will define the minimum permanent archive and any supplements to it that the SAC deems necessary. The Sampling Strategy will also become the basis of the shipboard and moratorium "sampling plan."

A successful Strategy will:

(1) define the amount of core material available to the scientific party for sampling by deciding if (and when) more than a minimum permanent archive is needed;

(2) anticipate and possibly define limits on the volume and frequency of shipboard sampling for routine analyses, pilot studies, and low-resolution studies;

(3) estimate the sampling volume and frequency that is needed to meet the objectives of the leg, as per scientific subdiscipline and request type;

(4) anticipate the recovery of critical intervals and develop a protocol for sampling and/or preserving them;

(5) propose where and when sampling will occur. SACs are strongly encouraged to defer large-volume and high-frequency sampling to postcruise "sampling parties" at ODP core repositories;

(6) determine special sampling methods and needs (e.g., Pressure Core Sampler, microbiology, whole rounds);

(7) consider any special core storage or shipping needs (e.g., plastic wrap, freezing sections); and

(8) identify disciplines/personnel needed for shore-based sampling.

The Sampling Strategy should be formatted using the following categories. For examples, review recent copies of leg-specific sampling strategies from previous legs in the Scientific Prospectus series (http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/). (Also see Appendix B.)