The drilling plan will proceed as follows:
2. Once shipboard operational parameters are determined, we will assemble and deploy the entire hammer drill system and attempt to set and recover, if possible, 40-60 m of casing string at the same location.
3. Our second projected site (Fig. 2, Site HDS-2) is located on the north sloping flank of the platform in 1.5-2.5 km of water. We will again deploy the entire hammer-drill system and attempt to set 40-60 m of casing. Once we complete this operation, we expect to attempt to drill several short boreholes to determine the operational capabilities of the hammer drill on various slopes.
4. Our third site (Fig. 2, HDS-3) is located on the talus-covered, steeply graded western flank of the platform. This will be the most severe test of the system and most closely simulates conditions that restricted operations at Hess Deep and MARK. We hope to install at least 40-60 m of casing at this site. Once the reentry is established, we will continue testing the operational limits of the hammer drill in a sloping, talus-covered environment.
5. Following successful testing to this point, we will attempt to set a longer casing string, 40 80 m long, at this location.
6. Time permitting, we plan the following operations listed in order of priority.
B. Drill at least two cores from as many established reentry holes as possible.
C. Deepen one of the cased boreholes to the extent possible.
If there is insufficient operational time to set a new guidebase, several short-term options remain as contingencies. These include milling and fishing operations in Hole 735B (+24 hr per attempt); additional logging with the formation microscanner (FMS) in the open part of Hole 735B with fresh water mud to reduce the resistivity contrast in the borehole, or depart early for operations at Ninetyeast Ridge.