Site:
SWPAC-8A
Track line SWPAC-8A
Seismic line
SWPAC-8A
Priority:
1
Position: 46°34.78'S, 177°23.63'W
Water Depth: 4425 m
Sediment Thickness: 1160 m
Target Drilling Depth: 710 m
Approved Maximum Penetration: 800 m
Seismic Coverage: NZOI Lines CR2023, CR2040, and CR1151;
NIWAR 3034 Lines 11 and 12
Objectives:
The objectives of SWPAC-8A are to:
- Determine
climate, sea level, and tectonic controls on abyssal
sediment supply.
- Test
the deep-sea cyclotherm model.
- Evaluate
late Miocene to Holocene sediment injection into DWBC.
- This
site in combination with the most southerly drift sites
(Sites SWPAC-6B, 7B) will allow us to assess the shift in
position of the climatically important AAC and SAF fronts
using faunal and coarse-fraction analysis and stable
isotopic and magnetic susceptibility measurements to
trace ice-rafted detritus.
Drilling
Program: Double APC, XCB
Logging
and Downhole Operations: Triple combo, FMS/Sonic, GHMT
Nature
of Rock Anticipated: Terrigenous silt/mud turbidites,
hemipelagites
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