The separate sections of the site chapters were written by the following shipboard scientists (authors are listed in alphabetical order; no seniority is implied):
Drilling OperationsTwo standard coring systems were used during Leg 199: the advanced piston corer (APC), and the extended core barrel (XCB). These standard coring systems and their characteristics are summarized in various "Explanatory Notes" chapters of previous Initial Reports volumes as well as in a number of technical notes. The Leg 139 Initial Reports volume includes a particularly detailed description of these systems. Most cored intervals were ~9.6 m long, which is the length of a standard core barrel. In a few cases, the drill string was drilled, or "washed ahead," without recovering sediments to advance the drill bit to a target depth where core recovery needed to be resumed.Drilled intervals are referred to in meters below rig floor (mbrf) that are measured from the kelly bushing on the rig floor to the bottom of the drill pipe and meters below seafloor (mbsf) that are calculated. When sediments of substantial thickness cover the seafloor, the mbrf depth of the seafloor is determined with a mudline core, assuming 100% recovery for the cored interval in the first core. Water depth is calculated by subtracting the distance from the rig floor to sea level from the mudline measurement in mbrf. This water depth usually differs from precision depth recorder measurements by a few to several meters. The mbsf depths of core tops are determined by subtracting the seafloor depth (in mbrf) from the core-top depth (in mbrf). The resulting core-top datums in mbsf are the ultimate reference for any further depth calculation procedures.
Drilling DeformationWhen cores are split, many show signs of significant sediment disturbance, including the concave-downward appearance of originally horizontal bedding, haphazard mixing of lumps of different lithologies (mainly at the tops of cores), fluidization, and flow-in. Core deformation may also occur during retrieval because of changes in pressure and temperature as the core is raised and during cutting and core handling on deck.
Curatorial Procedures and Sample Depth CalculationsNumbering of sites, holes, cores, and samples follows the standard Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) procedure (Fig. F1). A full curatorial identifier for a sample consists of the leg, site, hole, core number, core type, section number, and interval in centimeters measured from the top of the core section. For example, a sample identification of 199-1215A-1H-1, 10-12 cm, represents a sample removed from the interval between 10 and 12 cm below the top of Section 1, Core 1 (H designates that this core was taken with the APC system) of Hole 1215A during Leg 199. Cored intervals are also referred to in "curatorial" mbsf. The mbsf of a sample is calculated by adding the depth of the sample below the section top and the lengths of all higher sections in the core to the core top datum measured with the drill string.A sediment core from less than a fe...