In-Situ Sampling and Characterization of Naturally Occurring Marine Methane Hydrate Using the D/V JOIDES Resolution

Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41329 between Joint Oceanographic Institutions and DOE-NETL was divided into two phases based on successive proposals and negotiated statements of work pertaining to activities to sample and characterize methane hydrates on ODP Leg 204 (Phase 1) and on IODP Expedition 311 (Phase 2). The Phase 1 Final Report was submitted to DOE-NETL in April 2004. This report is the Phase 2 Final Report to DOE-NETL. The primary objectives of Phase 2 were to sample and characterize methane hydrates using the systems and capabilities of the D/V JOIDES Resolution during IODP Expedition 311, to enable scientists the opportunity to establish the mass and distribution of naturally occurring gas and gas hydrate at all relevant spatial and temporal scales, and to contribute to the DOE methane hydrate research and development effort. The goal of the work was to provide expanded measurement capabilities on the JOIDES Resolution for a dedicated hydrate cruise to the Cascadia continental margin off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (IODP Expedition 311) so that hydrate deposits in this region would be well characterized and technology development continued for hydrate research. IODP Expedition 311 shipboard activities on the JOIDES Resolution began on August 28 and were concluded on October 28, 2005. The statement of work for this project included three primary tasks: (1) research management oversight, provided by JOI; (2) mobilization, deployment and demobilization of pressure coring and core logging systems, through a subcontract with Geotek Ltd.; and, (3) mobilization, deployment and demobilization of a refrigerated container van that will be used for degassing of the Pressure Core Sampler and density logging of these pressure cores, through a subcontract with the Texas A&M Research Foundation (TAMRF). Additional small tasks that arose during the course of the research were included under these three primary tasks in consultation with the DOE-NETL Program Manager. All tasks outlined in the original statement of work were accomplished except for the deployment and use of the X-ray CT system under Subtask 2-2. This reduction in scope provided resources that were applied to other activities to support the overall project. Post-expedition analysis of results and report writing will continue beyond this reporting period, however, all field deployments associated with this project have been successfully concluded as of this writing

What lies beneath? Interdisciplinary outcomes of the ANDRILL Coulman High Project site surveys on the Ross Ice Shelf

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 3 (2012): 84-89, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.79.Extensive field operations were conducted on the northwestern Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica from November 2010 through January 2011. A significant amount of equipment, supplies, and people safely traversed from McMurdo Station to establish a series of combined United States–New Zealand field camps at locations northeast of Ross Island. The ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) hot water drill system was used to melt multiple access holes through the ice shelf at each site to deploy a variety of sediment coring tools, cameras, and oceanographic instruments, as well as a remotely operated vehicle to characterize the ice shelf and sub-ice environment. These studies will contribute to future proposed geological drilling as part of the ANDRILL Coulman High Project.This work is funded by US NSF-OPP Grant ANT-0838914 and by the NZ Foundation for Research, Science and Technology

IN-SITU SAMPLING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURALLY OCCURRING MARINE METHANE HYDRATE USING THE D/V JOIDES RESOLUTION

The primary accomplishment of the JOI Cooperative Agreement with DOE/NETL in this quarter was the preparation of tools and measurement systems for deployment, testing and use on ODP Leg 204, which will study hydrate deposits on Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon. Additional accomplishments were related to the postcruise evaluation of tools and measurements systems used on ODP Leg 201 along the Peru margin from January through March, 2002. The operational results from the use of the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) tool and the PCS Gas Manifold on ODP Leg 201 are evaluated in this progress report in order to prepare for the upcoming deployments on ODP Leg 204 in July, 2002. The PCS was deployed 17 times during ODP Leg 201 and successfully retrieved cores from a broad range of lithologies and sediment depths along the Peru margin. Eleven deployments were entirely successful, collecting between 0.5 and 1.0 meters of sediment at greater than 75% of hydrostatic pressure. The PCS gas manifold was used in conjunction with the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) throughout ODP Leg 201 to measure the total volume and composition of gases recovered in sediment cores associated with methane gas hydrates. The FUGRO Pressure Corer (FPC), one of the HYACE/HYACINTH pressure coring tools, was also deployed on the D/V JOIDES Resolution during ODP Legs 201 to field-test this coring system at three shallow-water sites located offshore Peru. The field-testing of these tools provides a corollary benefit to DOE/NETL at no cost to this project. The testing of these tools on the D/V JOIDES Resolution was negotiated as part of a cooperative agreement between JOI/ODP and the HYACINTH partners. The DVTP, DVTP-P, APC-methane, and APC-Temperature tools (ODP memory tools) were used extensively during ODP Leg 201. The data obtained from the successful deployments of these tools is still being evaluated by the scientists and engineers involved in this testing; however, preliminary results are presented in this report. An infrared-thermal imaging system (IR-TIS) was deployed for the first time on ODP Leg 201. This system was used to identify methane hydrate intervals in the recovered cores. Initial discussions of these experiments are provided in this report. This report is an overview of the field measurements made on recovered sediment cores and the downhole measurements made during ODP Leg 201. These results are currently being used to incorporate the ''lessons learned'' from these deployments to prepare for a dedicated ODP leg to study the characteristics of naturally-occurring hydrates in the subsurface environment of Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon during ODP Leg 204, which will take place from July through September, 2002

MOSAiC Extended Acknowledgement

For years, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), together with the international MOSAiC partners, had been planning and developing the scientific, logistical and financial concept for the implementation of the MOSAiC expedition. The planning and organization of this endeavor was an enormous e˙ort, involving more than 80 institutions from 20 countries. The number of groups and individuals that significantly contributed to the success of the drift observatory goes far beyond the scope of usual polar expeditions

Climate Change Education – What works and why?

Over the past six years, more than 10,000 middle school and high school teachers and students have been introduced to the ANDRILL‐related “Antarctica’s Climate Secrets” activity modules and the “Environmental Literacy Framework (ELF) with a focus on climate change” activity modules (funded by grants from NSF and NOAA, respectively). This presentation will provide an overview of the outcomes of these two projects and discuss the lessons learned with respect to different stakeholder groups. The development of the ELF hands‐on activity modules is continuing and all ELF activity modules are currently being submitted to the CLEAN (Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network) Pathway for review and adoption into that collection. The hands‐on activity modules developed as part of the “Antarctica’s Climate Secrets” project have already been accepted into the CLEAN Pathway collection. The NSF‐funded “Antarctica Climate Secrets” project (led by Judy Diamond at the Nebraska State Museum of Natural History, and Luanne Dahlman, an ARISE (ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators) Program participant and curriculum developer at TERC, who is currently at the NOAA Climate Project Office), developed resources that were closely related to the ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) Program’s geoscience research activities in Antarctica. These resources were used for teacher professional development and by teachers working with their students to create Flexhibits (FLEXible exHIBITs), where students teach other students and the general public about what they’ve learned about Antarctica and climate change after participating in the hands‐on activities and learning the information in the five themes of “Antarctica’s Climate Secrets,” which relate to Antarctica and climate change. During each year of the three year NOAA‐funded Environmental Literacy grant to UNL, two professional development workshops for teachers/educators have been conducted at each of 4‐10 sites across the United States to (1) introduce the Environmental Literacy Framework (ELF), (2) provide inquiry‐based activities with a focus on climate change, and (3) collect data for research and evaluation. Following the workshops, teachers interact with other teachers and with scientists as they deepen their knowledge about climate change science and pedagogy. Teachers work with students who conduct their own research and present their project outcomes to new audiences in local Flexhibit events, and at a capstone Climate Change Student Summit, where the students from each state are gathered together and connected to the other C2S2 sites via videoconference, and to interact in person with attending geoscientists. The focus of the NOAA‐funded Environmental Literacy (EL) resources has been to build educators’ background knowledge about climate change science while helping them to integrate ocean, climate, and environmental literacy concepts into existing science courses. Teachers implement hands‐on and inquiry‐based learning activities with their students, and the students develop projects that demonstrate concepts of ocean, climate and environmental literacy. Student activities culminate in a Climate Change Student Summit (C2S2) capstone event, held at museums and other public venues, where students present the outcomes of their own scientific inquiries. More than 800 students have been directly involved in the NOAA‐funded Climate Change Student Summits (C2S2), and more than 200 teachers and 5,000 students are currently using the ELF modules in their classrooms in 10 U.S. States

IN-SITU SAMPLING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURALLY OCCURRING MARINE METHANE HYDRATE USING THE D/V JOIDES RESOLUTION

The primary accomplishments of the JOI Cooperative Agreement with DOE/NETL in this quarter were that: (1) Frank Rack presented preliminary results and operational outcomes of ODP Leg 204 at the DOE/NETL project review and two made two presentations at the ChevronTexaco Gulf of Mexico Hydrate JIP meeting, which were both held in Westminster, CO; and, (2) postcruise evaluation of the data, tools and measurement systems that were used during ODP Leg 204 continued in the preparation of deliverables under this agreement. Work continued on analyzing data collected during ODP Leg 204 and preparing reports on the outcomes of Phase 1 projects as well as developing plans for Phase 2

Consolidation tests of ODP Leg 113 samples

Examination of the geotechnical characteristics of Weddell Sea, Maud Rise, and South Orkney microcontinental margin sediments recovered during ODP Leg 113 reveals that the reduction in porosity (consolidation) of the siliciclastic, calcareous, and diatomaceous sediments is primarily a process governed by vertical stresses created by overburden. The initial porosity of the sediments in these areas is governed by the amount of diatoms present. The more diatoms, the higher the porosity. Surficial diatom-rich sediments are everywhere overconsolidated. This is attributed to the strong microfabric created by the diatoms, calcareous and clay particles. The deeper diatom-free sediments of Maud Rise range from slightly underconsolidated to normally consolidated. The silty clays and clays of the Weddell Sea and South Orkney margin are underconsolidated. The degree of underconsolidation of these sediments is similar to that determined in a number of different locations throughout the world's oceans. The very low permeability of the Weddell Sea and South Orkney margin sediments appears to account for this underconsolidation

Late Neogene sediment composition and accumulation rates of ODP Hole 120-751A

Through scanning electron microscope analysis of sediment microfabric, we have evaluated variations in high-resolution shipboard physical properties (index properties and shear strength), sediment components (smear slide determinations), and shore-based calcium carbonate and biogenic silica data from Site 751 (Kerguelen Plateau). The stratigraphic section at this site records a change in biogenic ooze composition from predominantly calcareous (nannofossil) to siliceous (diatom) ooze from ~23 Ma to the present, reflecting expansion of Antarctic water masses during the late Neogene. The profound change in physical properties and sediment character at 40.1 mbsf (~5-6 Ma) evidently records the northward movement of the Polar Front and a change in absolute accumulation rates of sediment at this site. Trends in geotechnical properties with depth at Site 751 allowed us to subdivide the sedimentary column into a number of geotechnical units that reflect changes in depositional and postdepositional processes with time. Geotechnical properties are sensitive to changing sedimentary inputs of primarily siliceous and calcareous microfossils. This allows us to study the physical nature of biostratigraphically-identified hiatuses and variations in environmental conditions linked to the migration of the Polar Front across this region. The analysis of geotechnical properties permits a more detailed division of the sedimentary column than is possible from shipboard lithologic descriptions alone. Our study of the sedimentary microfabric indicates that randomly oriented, elongate pennate diatom valves compose the sediments with highest porosity and water content values, and the lowest density values (wet bulk, dry bulk, and grain density). Conversely, sediments composed of nannofossils and disassociated nannofossil crystallites and little or no siliceous remains have the lowest porosity and water content values, and the highest density values. Samples of mixed siliceous/calcareous composition have intermediate physical property values, but these vary according to the nature of the sedimentary matrix and the state of preservation of individual skeletal elements