The participants of Leg 173 cored and analyzed 453 m of core from five drill sites.
The JOIDES Resolution docked in Lisbon, Portugal on April 15, 1997, ending Leg 172. The Leg 173 technical staff joined the ship the following morning, April 16. The technical crews completed crossover by midday. At 1800 hours on April 21, lines were cast and the ship got under way for the 171 nmi transit to the drilling location. Five sites were drilled in the vicinity. The leg's drilling operations were completed June 7, and the ship was under way at 0430 for the 2283 nmi transit to Halifax.
Port Call Activities Overview
Port call logistics included customs clearance of personnel and shipments, and onloading and offloading of science and operations supplies. A service representative from Fisons Inc. repaired the x-ray fluorescence unit. A representative from Tracor attended port call to instruct shipboard scientists on the use of the JANUS database and help get the database prepared for the acceptance leg. A special VIP tour of the ship was conducted to commemorate Portugal's joining ODP. Catermar held a dinner for all port call and shipboard participants at the castle of King George.
Transit Activities
The technical staff collected bathymetric data and Earth's magnetic field data during the transit to the drill area and during the transit to Halifax at the end of the leg. Seismic surveys were not required to meet the scientific objectives. Global Positioning System (GPS) fix coordinates were recorded every minute for the entire leg.
Safety
The Marine Emergency Technical Squad (METS) participated in all ship's emergency drills. The METS was the primary response team for all laboratory emergencies and the third backup hose team for all other ship emergencies. There were no actual emergencies this leg.