Much of the Paleogene and Cretaceous core material to be recovered during Leg 207 will be retrieved by APC and XCB coring, generally by triple coring. No archive halves (permanent or temporary) will be sampled aboard ship, and the permanent archive will be designated postcruise. Sampling of the recovered cores will be subject to the rules described in the ODP Sample Distribution Policy (http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/policy.html). Sampling for high-resolution isotopic, sedimentologic, and micropaleontologic studies will be conducted after construction of the spliced composite section. High-resolution sampling requests are anticipated for most sites. Sampling schedules will be worked out to optimize stratigraphic coverage and minimize duplication. Geochemical sampling, which calls for larger volumes, will be conducted on material from the third hole if it would otherwise interfere with first-pass micropaleontology and sedimentology sampling. Where appropriate, U-channel sampling for high-resolution paleomagnetic studies will be conducted postcruise from the temporary archive half along the composite sampling splice.
Sampling for whole-round samples (e.g., physical properties, interstitial water, etc.) will be undertaken so as not to interfere with stratigraphically sensitive sampling sequences and to take advantage of available continuous nondestructive measurements where possible.
Should particularly thinly laminated sediments be encountered or some other factor necessitate it, detailed very high resolution sampling may be approved. The sampling allocation committee (SAC) will determine details of the sampling pattern in such instances.
Detailed sampling of cores from a given site will proceed only after a composite stratigraphy is constructed from cores from the two or more holes drilled at the site. The splice will be constructed, and the stratigraphic information will be distributed to the scientific party in advance of postcruise sampling to facilitate planning and scientific collaboration. Requests to sample on board, for pilot studies or for projects requiring lower stratigraphic resolution, will be considered by the SAC.
The archive-half cores (permanent and temporary) for all holes will not be sampled aboard ship, and the permanent archive will be designated postcruise.
Critical intervals include the Eocene/Oligocene, Paleocene/Eocene, Cretaceous/Tertiary, and Cenomanian/Turonian boundaries and the Albian Oceanic Anoxic Events 1d, 1c, and 1b. The biostratigraphic definitions of the critical intervals will be established by shipboard paleontologists and the SAC at the beginning of the cruise. When these intervals are recovered, only toothpick samples will be taken initially to provide age control. Once this control has been obtained, the SAC will develop a sampling plan in consultation with interested scientists. This sampling will be carried out during a postcruise sampling party. Whole-round samples in these intervals will only be taken once biostratigraphic control is obtained.
All sampling for Leg 207 and the final sampling plan, will be approved by the SAC, consisting of the Co-Chief Scientists (Erbacher and Mosher), Staff Scientist (Malone), and the Curator (or his representative). The initial sampling plan will be preliminary and may be modified during the cruise, depending upon actual material recovered and collaborations that may evolve between scientists.