SO461 Lab, Fall 2008

DSDP/ODP Project

This will be an individual writing project.  All work will be your own. This will be due by Tuesday 30 September.

You will turn in the following:

• A map showing the location of 2 sites, one from the DSDP and one from the ODP, and which must be drilled on Mesozoic or older Cenozoic oceanic crust.  Insure that your figures are in the correct format.

• A summary diagram showing the lithologies recovered in the sites.  You can probably find this in the library or on the web, but be careful and do not just grab the first diagram you see. The summary diagram should show 6-12 different major rock types, and not the cm by cm description which is also available and spread over multiple pages.  Insure that your figures are in the correct format.

• A discussion of the sedimentary history of the region you select.  Insure that you concisely cover the major sediment types recovered and what they tell us about the geologic history.  This can be done in about a page if you think and cover the important points and not just a random selection of facts. Insure that you use references in the text, in the correct format.

• A "References Cited" (bibliography), in the correct format. You must have at least two sources, one for each leg. Your examples should  follow the example on the department style manual web page for "COMPENDIUM, or OTHER EDITED VOLUME".  See the samples below for DSDP/ODP publications. Note that you will be citing a single chapter (or paper) from the large book.

We will perform this exercise as follows:

• Lecture Monday will be a discussion of the DSDP/ODP program and stratigraphy.  Then we will look at the GIS program to pick sites with the age of the seafloor at each site.  You will note the legs you have selected; only one midshipmen can use each leg. 

• During the lab Tuesday we will go to the library to look at the DSDP and ODP reports in the QE section.  For many of the ODP legs, there is both a preliminary report and a detailed report.  The preliminary report is probably better.  You are also to look for a leg or site summary, with the entire hole summarized on one diagram with about 6-12 different units.  

• If you need help, contact the instructor for assistance.

Resources

• KML files to display in Google Earth

  • http://www.iodp.org/borehole-map KML file with the hole locations.  There are links to the publications on line, but the paper versions might be easier to scan for what you are looking for.  The colors refer to the phases of the drilling program.

  • http://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/so461web/Mesozoic_sea_floor.kmz  for a map of the Mesozoic crust;

• Detailed time scale clicking on Cretaceous or Jurassic will bring up a detailed time scale with the subdivisions like Campanian or Bajocian; some of the sites use this level of time resolution.

• http://iodp.tamu.edu/publications/PR.html has publications of the new IODP.

• http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications has many of the newer reports on line from the ODP.  Hard as it is to believe, the paper copies may be easier for you to use because they are easier to skim.

• http://www.deepseadrilling.org will have the older reports available.

• A DSDP/ODP leg is a cruise, which visits several sites and generally drills one core hole at each.  Cruises and sites are both denoted by sequential numbers.  Exceptions occur when there are re-entry problems and a single site will have several holes, which share the same site number and differ with a letter suffix.  Often these will not relog the top portion of the hole already completed, and will only log the deeper portion.

Samples of DSDP/ODP reference citations:

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