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Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Thin Section Lab Technicians


I. PRE EXPEDITION

  • See General JRSO Technical Staff SOP

II. PORT CALL - Start of an Expedition

  • Cross-over with off-going crew. Read all tech reports and crossover notes. Ask how to reach counterpart while they are traveling if questions should arise.
  • Assist with the transfer of cores from the previous expedition, freight and ship's stores.
  • Empty lab of trash, empty sharps container, dispose of all waste oil.  Sharps container can be taped up and thrown away in one of the broken glass boxes in chemistry or paleo labs.  Waste oil is properly labeled and placed in the flammable cabinet on the catwalk.
  • Unpack shipments to the TS lab, make sure that parts are correct for the lab's equipment.
  • Begin verifying that all equipment is fully functional (i.e. frosting slides, verifying that jigs and lapping wheel are flat.) Ensure that you are aware of what types of material are expected on the expedition (hard rock, softer silty materials, grain-mounts, etc.), and that you are comfortable making thin sections of these materials.
  • Notify the Lab Officer if any problems are discovered.
  • Report to ALO/LO for other port call duties.

III. SITE PREPARATION - Prior to arrival on site and core on deck

  • Verifying that all equipment is fully functional (i.e. frosting slides, verifying that jigs and lapping wheel are flat.) Ensure that you are aware of what types of material are expected on the expedition (hard rock, softer silty materials, grain-mounts, etc.), and that you are comfortable making thin sections of these materials.

IV. DURING CORING OPERATIONS

  • Receive core and assist as needed in the core lab (i.e. splitting, restocking, boxing core, disposing of trash, and general cleaning and maintenance of core lab). Remember, the core lab is your primary duty and thin section preparation must come secondary to that unless arrangements are made with the Lab Officer to meet special objectives.
  • Prepare and analyze thin section samples.
  • Be fully comfortable with the goals and theory of thin section preparation.
  • Be able to answer questions about your process and technique from interested scientists and fellow technicians. You are The Thin Section Specialist.
  • Establish how many thin section samples your lab can reasonably be expected to handle. Emily Fisher (Former Thin Section Tech) recommends a maximum of 12 standard samples, or 6 large format slides per day.
  • Maintain a record of all thin sections in the Log Book. Additionally, an excel document may also be helpful.
  • Enter the thin section as a child of the appropriate core in sample master. (Ask The Curator for assistance with this.)
  • Once thin sections are completed, label them and give them to the Imaging Specialist for photographing before allowing scientists access.
  • Keep all thin sections in a central slide box. Have scientists check them out as needed, and maintain an inventory of who has which slides.
  • Keep the lab clean and orderly, and well stocked with all necessary supplies. Sweep and mop as necessary. Remove cups/dishes promptly.
  • Slide box should be labeled like this: 
  •  
  • Make sure thin section slides have a permanent marking of at least the TS number and orientation, either by using the diamond tipped etching pen or the laser engraver.  In addition, a label from the Brady label printers (in the core lab used for hard rock labeling) is recommended because it is easy to read.


V. DURING TRANSITS

  • Continue processing cores through the lab as described above.

VI. DURING EXPEDITION

  • Maintain the AMS inventory sheet. Do physical counts of supplies and other parts each cruise as time allows.
  • If the equipment is not operating properly, learn how to fix it. Other technicians and ET's can assist and be used as a resource if you are not sure how to solve a particular problem, but it is your responsibility to know how to perform the maintenance and repair of your equipment.
  • Zero the monitor of the LP50 frequently and check the flatness of the test block, the lapping and the frosting jigs regularly with the Logitech micrometer.
  • Monitor the oil levels in the various vacuum pumps. Refill or change as needed.
  • Put shipping or other important information in the Tech Report. Record and date any maintenance in the appropriate section in Confluence.

VII. END OF EXPEDITION ACTIVITIES

  • Write the end-of-Expedition tech report, give a copy to the Lab Officer.
  • Work with the Curator and scientists to determine where residue billets will be sent.
  • Pack up equipment being returned for repairs and give the Assistant Lab Officer the following information: IODP inventory number, value, weight, serial number, model number, vendor's name and country of manufacture.
  • Give the Lab Officer a list for port purchases if any.
  • Clean the lab and assigned area following the cleaning instruction listed by the LO/ALO. Bring all the trash to the incinerator. Glass and sharps get disposed of in port call.


End of Cruise Cleaning

  • Remove all personal items from drawers, walls, and shelves.
  • Clean everything from top to bottom and swab your deck.
  • Empty broken glass into the box in the paleo lab. Consult LO on how to dispose properly.
  • Clean all cabinets, in particular the chemical and flammable cabinets. Dispose of unlabeled or out of date bottles.
  • Empty and clean all sediment traps

VIII. PORT CALL – Off Going

  • See General JRSO Technical Staff SOP


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