RRS James Cook JC130
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS James Cook (740H) |
| Cruise identifier | JC130 |
| Cruise period | 2015-10-26 — 2015-12-11 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 357 successfully cored an east–west transect across the southern wall of Atlantis Massif on the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to study the links between serpentinization processes and microbial activity in the shallow subsurface of highly altered ultramafic and mafic sequences that have been uplifted to the seafloor along a major detachment fault zone.
The primary goals of this expedition were to (1) examine the role of serpentinization in driving hydrothermal systems, sustaining microbial communities, and sequestering carbon (2) characterize the tectonomagmatic processes that lead to lithospheric heterogeneities and detachment faulting (3) assess how abiotic and biotic processes change with variations in rock type and progressive exposure on the seafloor. To accomplish these objectives, we developed a coring and sampling strategy based around the use of seabed rock drills—the first time that such systems have been used in the scientific ocean drilling programs. This technology was chosen in hopes of achieving high recovery of the carbonate cap sequences and intact contact and deformation relationships. The expedition plans also included several engineering developments to assess geochemical parameters during drilling; sample bottom water before and after drilling; supply synthetic tracers during drilling for contamination assessment; gather downhole electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility logs for assessing fractures, fluid flow, and extent of serpentinization; and seal boreholes to provide opportunities for future experiments. |
| Chief scientist | Carol J Cotterill (British Geological Survey, Edinburgh) |
| Project | International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) |
| Cruise report |  (6.59 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
| Track charts | (3.02 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of samples = 42 Description: 10-litre bottom water samples from CTD. |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of samples = 8 Description: 10-litre surface water samples from CTD |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of samples = 42 Description: 4L Niskin bottles attached to the drill, fired during and immediately after coring (3 at each site they were used). |
| Water bottle stations | Quantity: number of samples = 20 Description: 10-litre mid-column water samples from CTD. |
| CTD stations | Quantity: number of profiles = 12 Description: CTD stations. 60 litres collected at each. |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Core - rock | Quantity: number of cores = 6 Description: Seabed rockdrill: MeBo system, Core material acquired alongside in-situ water sampling at borehole of temp; pressure; conductivity; dissolved oxygen; pH/ORP and methane using drill-mounted water sensor package. |
| Core - rock | Quantity: number of cores = 11 Description: Seabed rockdrill: BGS RD2 system, Core material acquired alongside in-situ water sampling at borehole of temp; pressure; conductivity; dissolved oxygen; pH/ORP and methane using drill-mounted water sensor package. |
| In-situ seafloor measurement/sampling | Quantity: number of cores = 6 Description: Seabed rockdrill: MeBo system, Core material acquired alongside in-situ water sampling at borehole of temp; pressure; conductivity; dissolved oxygen; pH/ORP and methane using drill-mounted water sensor package. |
| In-situ seafloor measurement/sampling | Quantity: number of cores = 11 Description: Seabed rockdrill: BGS RD2 system, Core material acquired alongside in-situ water sampling at borehole of temp; pressure; conductivity; dissolved oxygen; pH/ORP and methane using drill-mounted water sensor package. |
| Multi-beam echosounding | Quantity: number of track lines = 14 Description: Multibeam acquired across Atlantis Massif, Atlantis Fracture Zone and using EM120. Beam angles were focussed to 45 degrees with a survey speed of 5 – 6 knots and 50 – 100% overlap in order to acquire 50m resolution. |
| Moorings, landers, buoys | |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Other geological/geophysical measurements | 30° 9' 51" N 42° 7' 18" W — Installation of borehole packer. Plan to re-sample borehole fluids in 2018/19 by NSF funded cruise |
| Other geological/geophysical measurements | 30° 7' 47" N 42° 7' 19" W — Installation of borehole packer. Plan to re-sample borehole fluids in 2018/19 by NSF funded cruise |
| Other geological/geophysical measurements | 30° 7' 39" N 42° 3' 58" W — Installation of borehole packer. Plan to re-sample borehole fluids in 2018/19 by NSF funded cruise |
| Other geological/geophysical measurements | 30° 7' 42" N 42° 9' 11" W — Installation of borehole packer. However, packer believed to have lifted out of the hole after catching on the drillrig as it was recovered to deck. |
