During the leg, samples for measurements of ephemeral properties will be collected. These measurements include those for organic geochemistry for safety monitoring (free gas and 20 cm³ sediment samples), interstitial water chemistry (whole rounds 5-15 cm in length), and biostratigraphy (core catcher samples). After splitting of the cores, samples for moisture content (20 cm³) will also be routinely collected. The study of fluid movement within the sedimentary section is an important goal of Leg 194. Thus, to characterize these fluid movements and sediment diagenesis, the collection of whole-round samples for pore-water geochemical analyses is anticipated to be at a higher resolution than typical for other ODP cruises.

Except for Sites CS-01A and CS-06A, all Leg 194 sites will be double cored in an attempt to recover a complete stratigraphic section. No archive halves (permanent or temporary) will be sampled aboard ship, and the permanent archive will be designated postcruise. Shipboard sampling for Leg 194 postcruise studies will be kept to a minimum. Only low-resolution sampling to support sediment facies description/characterization and facilitate pilot studies will be carried out aboard ship, and shipboard participants will only collect enough material for 6 months of postcruise research. The remaining samples required by participants and all high resolution sampling will be deferred until after the cruise to enable the development of a composite sedimentary section from the multiple holes. All shipboard scientists will participate in shipboard sampling according to the shift schedule developed at the start of the leg.