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1. Data report: revised composite depth scale and splice for IODP Expedition 363 Site U1483

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.363.201.2020  

   Gong, L. ; Lübbers, J. ; Beil, S. ; Holbourn, A. ( June 2020 , Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)

   null (Ed.)

   The shipboard sediment splice of International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 363 Site U1483, drilled in 1733 m water depth on the Scott Plateau off Northwest Australia, was primarily based on a composite of the magnetic susceptibility records at 2.5 cm resolution from three holes drilled at this site. We performed X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning at 2 cm intervals with overlaps of ~1–2 m at splice tie points and used these new data to verify the tie points along the original splice from 0 to 211.53 m core composite depth below seafloor (CCSF). Based on the XRF records, we revised the position of three original tie points and present a revised composite depth scale for Site U1483. These revisions resulted in shifts of up to 94 cm relative to the original shipboard offsets and a continuous section extending down to 211.62 m revised core composite depth below seafloor (r-CCSF). 

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2. Expedition 385 Preliminary Report: Guaymas Basin Tectonics and Biosphere

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.pr.385.2020  

   Teske, A. ; Lizarralde, D. ; Höfig, T.W. ( December 2020 , Preliminary report)

   null (Ed.)

   International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 385 drilled organic-rich sediments with sill intrusions on the flanking regions and in the northern axial graben in Guaymas Basin, a young marginal rift basin in the Gulf of California. Guaymas Basin is characterized by a widely distributed, intense heat flow and widespread off-axis magmatism expressed by a dense network of sill intrusions across the flanking regions, which is in contrast to classical mid-ocean ridge spreading centers. The numerous off-axis sills provide multiple transient heat sources that mobilize buried sedimentary carbon, in part as methane and other hydrocarbons, and drive hydrothermal circulation. The resulting thermal and geochemical gradients shape abundance, composition, and activity of the deep subsurface biosphere of the basin. Drill sites extend over the flanking regions of Guaymas Basin, covering a distance of ~81 km from the from the northwest to the southeast. Adjacent Sites U1545 and U1546 recovered the oldest and thickest sediment successions (to ~540 meters below seafloor [mbsf]; equivalent to the core depth below seafloor, Method A [CSF-A] scale), one with a thin sill (a few meters in thickness) near the drilled bottom (Site U1545), and one with a massive, deeply buried sill (~356–430 mbsf) that chemically and physically affects the surrounding sediments (Site U1546). Sites U1547 and U1548, located in the central part of the northern Guaymas Basin segment, were drilled to investigate a 600 m wide circular mound (bathymetric high) and its periphery. The dome-like structure is outlined by a ring of active vent sites called Ringvent. It is underlain by a remarkably thick sill at shallow depth (Site U1547). Hydrothermal gradients steepen at the Ringvent periphery (Holes U1548A–U1548C), which in turn shifts the zones of authigenic carbonate precipitation and of highest microbial cell abundance toward shallower depths. The Ringvent sill was drilled several times and yielded remarkably diverse igneous rock textures, sediment–sill interfaces, and hydrothermal alteration, reflected by various secondary minerals in veins and vesicles. Thus, the Ringvent sill became the target of an integrated sampling and interdisciplinary research effort that included geological, geochemical, and microbiological specialties. The thermal, lithologic, geochemical, and microbiological contrasts between the two deep northwestern sites (U1545 and U1546) and the Ringvent sites (U1547 and U1548) form the scientific centerpiece of the expedition. These observations are supplemented by results from sites that represent attenuated cold seepage conditions in the central basin (Site U1549), complex and disturbed sediments overlying sills in the northern axial trough (Site U1550), terrigenous sedimentation events on the southeastern flanking regions (Site U1551), and hydrate occurrence in shallow sediments proximal to the Sonora margin (Site U1552). The scientific outcomes of Expedition 385 will (1) revise long-held assumptions about the role of sill emplacement in subsurface carbon mobilization versus carbon retention, (2) comprehensively examine the subsurface biosphere of Guaymas Basin and its responses and adaptations to hydrothermal conditions, (3) redefine hydrothermal controls of authigenic mineral formation in sediments, and (4) yield new insights into many geochemical and geophysical aspects of both architecture and sill–sediment interaction in a nascent spreading center. The generally high quality and high degree of completeness of the shipboard datasets present opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborations during shore-based studies. In comparison to Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 64 to Guaymas Basin in 1979, sophisticated drilling strategies (for example, the advanced piston corer [APC] and half-length APC systems) and numerous analytical innovations have greatly improved sample recovery and scientific yield, particularly in the areas of organic geochemistry and microbiology. For example, microbial genomics did not exist 40 y ago. However, these technical refinements do not change the fact that Expedition 385 will in many respects build on the foundations laid by Leg 64 for understanding Guaymas Basin, regardless of whether adjustments are required in the near future. 

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3. Data report: revised Pleistocene sediment splice for Site U1457, IODP Expedition 355

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.355.202.2019  

   Lyle, M. ; Saraswat, R. ( February 2019 , Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)

   null (Ed.)

   Sediment cores from adjacent holes at a drill site are typically spliced to make a continuous sediment record that spans sediment gaps that occur between sediment cores within each hole. The splice also provides a template for later sampling. During International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 355, we made such a splice for both Sites U1456 and U1457 using shipboard Whole-Round Multisensor Logger and Section Half Multisensor Logger data. The shipboard-spliced sediment section at Site U1457 was constructed for the advanced piston corer interval to an age of about 1.5 Ma. Additional postexpedition planktonic foraminifer stable isotope data (Globigerinoides ruber δ18O) show that the shipboard stratigraphic tie between Cores 355-U1457B-1H and 355-U1457A-1H was wrong. This paper describes a revised splice that appends Core 355-U1457A-1H to the base of Core 355-U1457B-1H. The core composite depth below seafloor depths of the remaining splice have been revised because of this change. The revised splice interval is also longer by 1.2 m to accommodate the lower part of Core 355-U1457B-1H. In addition, a break of unknown thickness is present between Cores 355-U1457B-1H and 355-U1457A-1H. The revised splice interval table is included in this report. 

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4. Data report: X-ray fluorescence studies of Site U1457 sediments, Laxmi Basin, Arabian Sea

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.355.203.2018  

   Lyle, M. ; Kulhanek, D.K. ; Bowen, M.G. ; Hahn, A. ( December 2018 , Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)

   null (Ed.)

   Bulk sediment chemistry was measured at 2 cm resolution along cores from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1457 using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanner at the IODP Gulf Coast Repository. The Pleistocene splice section assembled from Holes U1457A and U1457B was scanned in its entirety, and nearly continuous sediment bulk chemistry profiles were constructed to a depth of 125 m core composite depth below seafloor (CCSF). Some sections of Hole U1457C were also scanned: (1) an upper Miocene hemipelagic section and (2) a 30 m lower Paleocene section directly overlying basalt. In the Pleistocene spliced sections, 2 cm spacing represents a sampling resolution of 150–300 y, whereas in the upper Miocene section this spacing represents about 500 y between samples. We report data and acquisition conditions for major and many minor elements. We find large variability in CaCO3 content in the Pleistocene section, from around 14 to 89 wt%. We used discrete shipboard CaCO3 measurements to calibrate the XRF Ca data. CaCO3 has cyclic variability and correlates with light sediment colors. Variation in aluminosilicate elements is largely caused by changes in dilution by CaCO3. The lower part of the spliced section, presumably representing distal Indus Fan deposits, has a distinctive but more uniform composition than the upper part. 

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5. Guaymas Basin Tectonics and Biosphere

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.385.2021  

   Teske, A. ; Lizarralde, D. ; Höfig, T.W. ( September 2021 , Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)

   null (Ed.)

   International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 385 drilled organic-rich sediments and intruded sills in the off-axis region and axial graben of the northern spreading segment of Guaymas Basin, a young marginal seafloor spreading system in the Gulf of California. Guaymas Basin is characterized by high heat flow and magmatism in the form of sill intrusions into sediments, which extends tens of kilometers off axis, in contrast with the localized volcanism found at most mid-ocean ridge spreading centers. Sill intrusions provide transient heat sources that mobilize buried sedimentary carbon, in part as methane and other hydrocarbons, and drive hydrothermal circulation. The resulting thermal and geochemical gradients shape abundance, composition, and activity of the deep subsurface biosphere of the basin. Drill sites extend over a broad region of Guaymas Basin. Adjacent Sites U1545 and U1546, located ~52 km northwest of the northern Guaymas Basin axial graben, recovered sediment successions to ~540 meters below seafloor (mbsf) (equivalent to the core depth below seafloor, Method A [CSF-A] scale), including a thin sill (a few meters thick) drilled near the bottom of Site U1545 and a massive sill (~355–430 mbsf) at Site U1546 that chemically and physically affects the surrounding sediments. Sites U1547 and U1548, located ~27 km northwest of the axial graben, were drilled to investigate an active sill-driven hydrothermal system evident at the seafloor as an 800 m wide, circular bathymetric high called Ringvent because of its outline of a ring of active vent sites. Ringvent is underlain by a thick sill at shallow depth (Site U1547). Geothermal gradients steepen toward the Ringvent periphery (Holes U1548A–U1548C), and the zones of authigenic carbonate precipitation and of highest microbial cell abundance correspondingly shallow toward the periphery. The underlying sill was drilled several times and yielded diverse igneous rock textures, sediment/sill interfaces, and alteration minerals in veins and vesicles. The Ringvent sill became the target of an integrated, interdisciplinary sampling and research effort that included geological, geochemical, and microbiological components. The thermal, lithologic, geochemical, and microbiological contrasts between the northwestern sites (U1545 and U1546) and the Ringvent sites (U1547 and U1548) form the core scientific observations informing the direct influence of sill-sediment interaction. These observations are supplemented by results from sites that exhibit persistent influence of thermally equilibrated sill intrusions, including supporting long-lived methane cold seeps, as observed at off-axis Sites U1549 and U1552, and the persistent geochemical record of hydrocarbon formation near the sill/sediment contact, as observed at the northern axial trough Site U1550, which confirms observations from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 64. Drilling at Site U1551 ~29 km southeast of the axial graben was not successful due to unstable shallow sands, but it confirmed the dominant influence of gravity-flow sedimentation processes southeast of the axial graben. The scientific outcomes of Expedition 385 will (1) revise long-held assumptions about the role of sill emplacement in subsurface carbon mobilization versus carbon retention, (2) comprehensively examine the subsurface biosphere of Guaymas Basin and its responses and adaptations to hydrothermal conditions, (3) redefine hydrothermal controls on authigenic mineral formation in sediments, and (4) yield new insights into the long term influence of sill-sediment interaction on sediments deposited at the earliest stages of seafloor spreading, that is, when spreading centers are proximal to a continental margin. The generally high quality and high degree of completeness of the shipboard data sets present opportunities for inter- and multidisciplinary collaborations during shore-based studies. In comparison to DSDP Leg 64 to Guaymas Basin in 1979, continuous availability of sophisticated drilling strategies (e.g., the advanced piston corer [APC] and half-length APC systems) and numerous analytical innovations greatly improved sample recovery and scientific yield, particularly in the areas of organic geochemistry and microbiology. For example, microbial metagenomics did not exist 40 y ago. However, these technical refinements do not change the fact that Expedition 385 in many respects builds on the foundations of understanding laid by Leg 64 drilling in Guaymas Basin. 

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