LAB OFFICER'S REPORT

Roy Davis
Science Objectives
Expedition 324 goals were to explore the large oceanic plateau of Shatsky Rise. Its unique combination of features makes Shatsky Rise the best location on Earth to test plume versus plate-tectonic hypotheses of ocean plateau formation.
General Leg Information
Expedition 323 ended and Expedition 324 began with the first line ashore Yokohama, Japan on 4 September 2009. Port call activities included a crossover and freight handling beginning on 5 September and ending when the vessel sailed on 9 September. The ship departed for the first Site U1346 at 1000 hrs 9 September. The vessel departed the last site at 1300 hrs 20 October bound for Townville, Australia with and ETA of 0600 on 3 November.
Port Call Activities Overview
Yokohama
Offloading of

• Expedition 323 general surface (including Foreign air shipments)
• World Courier frozen and cold sample shipments
• Trash

Delivery and loading of

• IODP surface
• LDEO and Schlumberger freight
• Fuel
• Groceries

Other Port Call Activities

• • XRD service call
  • ICP Bead maker service

Lab Activities
Lab Safety
The Bridge Deck Flammables and Acid lockers had the external safety shower installed and tested. Both heavy watertight doors to the lockers had handles welded on the exterior and interior.
The Kevlar safety arm guards and blankets were stored in the bridge deck acid locker.
Core Lab
Expedition 324 was classified as a "hard rock leg" and therefore made extensive use of the descriptive data capture system.
Core storage of both working and archive halves was moved to what had been the close up area and the close up area was moved to where archive core storage had been.
The core-viewing table at the aft end of the imaging track was shorted and the sink removed. A smaller sink was inlet into the table. This freed up what used to be a pinch point in the core lab.
A sink was inlet into the table holding the rock saws in the core splitting room to aid in drainage.
Paleomagnetics Lab
This was a typical hard-rock cruise in that pretty much every piece of equipment in the laboratory was used for either treatment or analyses. With the notable exception of the cryomag, which was rarely used at all due to the strong suspicion of an ARM from its demag coils (primarily the Z-axis). It was occasionally used to measure a few discrete samples or to debug the new discrete SRM software.
Curation
This was the first hard rock Expedition using the new updated software and tracks. A total of 4,397 samples were taken for Expedition 324. 2,853 were personal samples, and 1,544 were routine shipboard samples.
Thin Section Lab
There were over 330 thin section requests of basalts as well as various volcanoclastics and sediments. It was a busy cruise. Routine maintenance and cleaning was performed as necessary and at the end of the cruise.
Chemistry Lab
Expedition 324 was a hard rock cruise drilling the Shatsky Rise. The main instrument used in
the chemistry lab was the ICP. Carbonate samples were analyzed on the first two sites. Several manuals were also updated this cruise.
X-Ray Lab/ICP Prep
The lab busy preparing samples for the ICP and running XRD samples.
Information Systems
The IT infrastructure performed as intended with minimal interruptions to operations. Approximately 800 meters of cores were recovered with its associated data. There were minor changes to the ship board network infrastructure that were a continuation of the major changes during the last Expedition. Some operation issues persist, Apple File Protocol on the Novell OES servers continues to present challenges with unique character issues and PC users, The OES nodes had a couple instances of locking up, or loosing contact with the other nodes.
Developer
During Expedition 324, many changes and additions had to be made to the database and existing software to account for new data inputs and outputs necessary for an expedition that were not specified as part of the original requirements. Making these changes was an on-going process for the duration of the expedition.
Imaging Lab
Expedition 324 has been a standard hard rock cruise for imaging in the respect that core images are relatively low due to the number of core but the number of close up image requests were higher than on a sediment cruise. Other imaging duties consisted of checking all images produced from the image logger, PR photography, and shooting video for the Educator at Sea.

Underway/Fantail
Expedition 324 consisted of six transits (5305 nm) and five sites. Only one hole ('A') was drilled at each of the sites. For the first time in awhile, the IODP technical staff conducted underway watches. This was due to the deployment of a magnetometer during our transits. The magnetometer system was on loan from W.H.O.I. for this cruise. The seismic guns were not used. Aside from a few cases of the staff playing w/ WinFrog's display settings, all worked out well.

Assistant Lab Officer

Chieh Peng & Steve Prinz
Summary
Expedition 324 began in Yokohama and ended in Townsville, Australia. This was a mainly hard rock cruise. A A longtTwo weeks transit at the end was used for four4 hard rock sampling parties, and an equator crossing ceremony, in addition to regular end of cruise activities.
AMS/Inventory
We continued to clean up the inventory by performing physical counts, deleting duplicate item locations, and clarifying item descriptions and unit of issue. Half way thru the trip the permission for us to delete unused duplicate locations was removed, while Rakesh and Brad negotiate how to save this history. Duplicate entries make the reports confusing and difficult to manage. A debate about how to differentiate keeping current location, item only show up in the checkout sheet of currently assigned location versus keeping all location history is underway. We believe that these should be kept separately. Until this debate is resolved, we are not able to remove any location from an item even when the physical count is "0".
I was surprised to learn that the pdfPDF and jpg attachments in AMS are not available on the ship server. If you want to view any of these you have log in AMS on shore.
Special Projects
The close up photo table was swapped with the core cart. The location of the close up photo and the archive D-tube rack was reversed. A second D-tube rack, the full rack, was added to the new location. This arrangement increases the available d-tube storage space and improves access around the crowded archive/description table.aAllows both racks for archive and working halves to be stored in the core lab, thus clear up space in the splitting room. Also the footprint for the close up photo table is smaller than the rack, which gives more room in the core description area. The 3rd D-tube rack is in the Core reefer. It can still be used in the splitting room if needed.
Gas bottles modification; an extension of the flexible hose, pigtail, was added with 8 CGA580 fittings for all 8 bottles on the rack. There are total of 6 sets of the extended pigtail hose. The purpose is so that the 8 bottles can be turned on at one time. A vent valve was installed at the end of each extentionextension. However, one of the chemtechs did not approve this arranged so it was removed. All Swagelok parts are stored in the UTSHOP aft StainlyStanley Vidmar cabinet. An elbow fitting was installed in the Argon line in UTS. The line to HRS was disconnected.
Four sampling parties were held during the 2 weeks transit from Shatsky to Townsville. We determined that 96 sections could be laid out throughout Downhole lab, and corelab with existing counter tops. A conference table can accommodate 9 sections.
A sink was added on the forward part of the saw counter area. It alleviated some drainage problem, but is not completed. The drainage for the minicore presses counter is also problematic,problematic; the lipd prevents a complete flush of the water. We suggest moving one press to the starboard saw counter. Store the second press under the stair as backup. We can then dedicate the current press counter as an additional counter space.
Items in BFLM were re-arranged. Analytical chemicals are now in the stbd side cabinets, while other flammable chemicals are stored in the port side cabinet. An anti-flash dispenser is mounted on top of the flammable cabinet on the catwalk.

Problems/Concerns
General
After crossover, we noticed most of labs arewere in pretty dirty condition, particularly the splitting room. Core liner cutters were found scattered on the catwalk in rusted condition. Two of the 5 cutters were sent back to shore without any mentioning at crossover. Only after we couldn't find them, did we find the record in the shipping paper. The reason for sending 2 cutters home was not explained. This left EXP324 only 3 liner cutters.
The mMovie room projector was found in broken and in depaireddisrepair condition. After several attempts by both ETs, it was declared unfixable onboard. The projector was is sent back to shore forto repair. A spare projector from the conference room was installed. The cabling in the movie room was also found into be disarrayed condition. It took the ETs first week of the cruise to sort out all the mess, thus allowinged regular movie viewing.
Core Splitter
Core splitter blades were braking at an alarming rate while cutting empty liners. Every adjustment possible was made without solution. It is easier to cut an empty liner with only 1 blade on the splitter. We were very worried about the splittler being able to still cut a section full of mud, so we pulled a play core out of the reefer. The play core split normally, so I hope you will have no trouble with this on 317.
Super Saw
The super saw blade was replaced with a thinner un-notcheda continouscontinuous rim, lapidary blade (CR5003). Performance is improved, and there is much less noiseThe blade cuts hard sediment within the liner without noticeable vibration, and it cuts hard rock core smoothly. The noise is drastically reduced in general also. We recommend using this blade as the primary blade on the super saw. These were placed on regular inventory as P/N ???.
Rock Saw
We need another standard size rock saw (MK100MK-606 is designed to cut flat tiles. We could not raise the blade high enough to fit a whole round, even with an 8" blade. A single MK-100 rock saw was the sole source for splitting hard rock cores. This is not sufficient). We used the MK-606 mainly for cutting thin section slabs. A new MK-100 has been ordered for future expedition. It's always good for backup, and would have increased our efficiency during the many days of rock cutting. It's the only saw that could cut a whole round piece. Most of the half round pieces could not be cut on the small tile saw, so they had to be cut on the MK100 as well. I believe one of these is on order.
Brady Label Printer
Chad ordered another Brady label printer. Brady printer ODP #1133 prints so poorly as to be unusable. It is sent back to shore to be fixed. Brady will completely refurbish the printer for $225 (include parts & labor) , so I am sending this back to the beach to be fixed.
Core Carts
The wheels from one of our heavy-duty core box carts were used to repair the sample table. New wheels were ordered and should arrive in your shipment. The cart is under the counter in downhole measurement lab. Note that it maybe easiest to put the orange wheels back on the core cart as they have a different metric whole mounting pattern and install the new wheels on the sample cart.
Wax Core Box Storage Bin
The storage bins did a nice job holding the boxes tight and well organized. There is a bit of a sag or bow shape which set in most of the boxes. This made it even more difficult to unfold and build the box, and we had quite a few total failures with staples ripping off the entire side. Check that the base is blocked up strong and level before filling again with new boxes, maybe this will help.




Shipment
The following items were sent home
Bunker gear, 6 empty SCBA pelican cases, Dust collection system from TBULK, GC/MSD from chemlab

Core Lab

Loggers and Tracks Technical Report
Margaret Hastedt, Zenon Mateo, Erik Moortgat
Type and Number of Measurements

System Performance

1. Section-Half Multisensor Logger

The SHMSL ran continuously during the expedition, collecting both reflectance and point source magnetic susceptibility data at 1 cm interval . No hardware or software issues were encountered. The mounted barcode scanner that was originally installed was replaced with a handheld scanner at the previous expedition. The performance of this instrument was much better, but the design made it more difficult to use in scanning the barcode labels that are the bottom of the section half. Workarounds included typing in the label and sample IDs or using the Web Tabular Report to display the archive section half samples for the core being scanned and copying and pasting the sample and label IDs into the sample authentication window. However, during such process, rare mistakes were made in typing, resulting in mis-assigned or non-uploadable data and sometimes warranted canceling the data in the database through Labware.
During this expedition, Amber Harris, one of the scientists, wrote an application for WRMST and SHMSL data to remove end effects and gap measurements. This required using the laser profile measurement of the SHMSL to identify the end and gap between of samples, particularly pieces. The laserdat.txt file was therefore saved for each run and used in this filtering process. Both unfiltered and filtered data were plotted in the Strater graphic reports. This utility of the laser profile data should be further examined for future expeditions, especially for hardrocks. Either automatically save the file, locally or in the database, or implement an exclude or include feature for customizing points to measure or skip during a run.
For the Ocean Optics light source, we only needed to replace the halogen bulb once during this expedition. However, the replacement was the last halogen bulb on board. About six has been ordered for the next expedition and more attention will have to be given on this critical supply in the future. In case we run out of bulbs, there is also a spare but different type of Ocean Optics light source on board for development testing. If possible, only one type of light source should be used in one expedition to avoid any unnecessary effect in the data.
Because we were on our last bulb supply, it was necessary to conserve it by turning off the bulb during long coring intervals. However, there were a few instances where the bulb was not turned back on during a run, resulting in a re-scan of the cores, replacement of erroneous data in the local hard drive, re-uploading and data cancellation in the database. One way to mitigate this is to instill to the users at the beginning to always check this bulb before making a scan.

1. Section-Half Imaging Logger

All section-halves from this expedition were imaged and uploaded to the database. The logger performed impeccably well without any hardware issues! The only software issue was the one-time loss of the calibration file during a computer restart at the beginning of the expedition. For details, please see the developer's report.

1. Whole-Round Multisensor Track

The WRMST performed well during this expedition, generating data that are in good agreement with the discrete measurements and downhole logging data. No hardware issues were encountered and only one instance happened where a section had to be re-scanned. In one of the 119 cores collected, a second section would only be scanned for 5 cm and then the pusher would stop and a Labview error displayed. To solve this problem, the first section was re-scanned again and the rest went smoothly.
Being a hardrock cruise, the wholeround liners are split before being scanned in the WRMST. In some cases, the half liners that are taped together would be bigger than the original, just enough so that the top would be outside of the readable range of the laser, resulting in a misidentified top of a section. "Reconstructed whole liners" also poses a problem to the MS loop. As such, the top liner is often removed before each run.

1. Thermal Conductivity

The thermcon instrument was heavily used this expedition. Early on we noticed that once again the unit was very unreliable in its ability to generate results (in fact, it hardly ever produced any values). This has been noticed on the previous 3 expeditions and was mostly attributed to poor sample/needle contact or temperature disequilibrium. The hope was that the problem would be improved using the half-space pucks on hard rock samples. Unfortunately that hope was in vain.
After several communications with the vendor (Teka) and trying various strategies such as water saturation under vacuum, water baths, a press to maintain good contact, and insulated boxes we had a moment of serendipity – a power outage in the Core lab. The thermcon computer also doubles as a Flexit orientation station and so was plugged into a UPS to prevent survey loss in case of power failures like this. When the power failed, the thermcon was running off the UPS and generated multiple good results. After the power was restored the instrument stopped producing results as before. Hmm….
With that bit of luck in mind we began to do some testing with the UPS: let the thermcon nearly complete a drift study on a sample then yank the UPS plug out of the wall so that the instrument was running off of battery again. We got results every single time we did so. We then expanded our experiment to test between regulated and ship's power. We quickly discovered that (of all things!) regulated power was working against us. Plain old noisy ship's power was the way to go in order for the instrument to produce data. The ET's report is attached here, as well as photos of our setup.
The only other news is that unfortunately both pucks are out of commission at the end of this expedition. One puck was dropped hard and although it works, gives terribly high values for the Macor standard. The other puck was the workhorse for all of the samples this cruise, as it did not require any thermal joint compound to make good contact with our samples. The scientists much preferred not getting that white goo all over the archive half pieces they were measuring. It finally gave up the fight very late in the cruise after becoming heavily corroded against a sample with a large vein in it. Two more pucks are on order and will be hand-carried to the Townsville port call.
ET Report: TEKA-Thermcon noise interference investigation
(Yuri and Etienne)
We encountered some very challenging calibration/measurement conditions on the Thermcon over some period of time. Various tests and measurements were taken with the oscilloscope and Fluke Power Quality Analyzer and images and movie clips were made of which some will be attached in explaining the issue.
Problem description (Thermcon)
The instrument had difficulties getting any thermal conductivity results. The instrument was hooked up onto the regulated mains and fed via a UPS. It was found that once the power to the UPS was switched over to ship mains or running on UPS alone it would run satisfactorily without any problems, but when returned to regulated mains the same problems would be present again. This just did not make sense, as the ship mains are very noisy and would not be good enough for running any sensitive equipment without proper power conditioning.
The ship mains are subjected to a wide variety of heavy equipment running of it with rapidly changing current flows and most of the equipment has inductive and capacitive reactances on the power line causing a multiple of noise components and voltage fluctuations with the odd voltage spikes and sags at different intervals depending on the work conditions at any given period, which is normal.

1. Looking at the regulated mains with the Power analyzer it looks almost perfect with very low second and third harmonics present but negligible compared to the ship mains which has small harmonics spread all over the width of the display screen.
2. The UPS outlet when "disconnected" from mains looks as good as it gets on the analyzer with Thermcon operating normally with good results.
3. The UPS outlet when "connected" to regulated power looks perfect on the analyzer but not acceptable to the Thermcon as described.
4. The UPS "connected" on ship mains has a small amount of harmonics that do get through the UPS but is not significant and does not upset the thermcon at all.

Out of the above description it should be clear why all the confusion!
I decided to measure inside the thermcon's power supply circuit to see what noise/interfering components are present that might cause this as it does not show externally on the mains lines.
Thermcon Power supply finding:
Inside the instrument is a power distribution board with transformer, rectifier and a couple more components that supplies the 220V ac to the display section and two low voltage supplies that has both AC and DC components supplying the regulator board for the transducer circuits, this can be seen on the image with the label at the back of the instrument (fig. 1) as I brought extensions out for quick analyzing in future (fig. 2).
On this low volt line displayed on an oscilloscope and "zoomed" in to show any noise it has the following noise results present and visible on the low volt AC component of the power line.

1. With just the UPS it is clean with no fluctuations/noise other than the expected slight sinus distortion due to the transformed sinus wave after the voltage has been altered through the power supply transformation circuit.
2. UPS plugged to ship mains (unregulated power) the sinus wave still looks the same but with added mains noise although not fluctuating but with stable noise carriers present. This does not bother the thermcon. (3-Teka mains 1Cyc ship pwr .AVI)
3. UPS plugged into the regulated mains a definite second 60Hz signal is sweeping slowly across the fundamental 60Hz sinus wave from the ship's regulator (generator) at about 2 second intervals. This is clearly seen on the video clip included (1-Teka mains 1Cyc reg pwr.AVI). Added to this mixing of the two 60Hz signals are a range of mixing products, clearly visible running with the two interacting mains lines. Keep in mind that these two 60Hz sources are generated from different origins and not exactly in sync. This looks like hair running at the crossover point of the two bigger cycles. This causes the instrument to be unstable as it fails to determine any results. My guess is that this small but interfering signal/noise gets itself worked through the instrument and possibly to the transducers itself. Being analog measurements it will definitely have an effect on such small signals and cause unstable values.

Conclusion:
These tests were done at different spots throughout the labs on the core deck and ET shop as well to see if it was true to all regulated power outlets. It was found that this occurs mainly on outlets connected to RP7 distribution board with exception to the outlets in the ET shop from the same board but connected on a different phase as the core lab, which comes from the other 2 phases. The RP8 distribution board only has one outlet affected and this outlet mainly supplies the outlets on the port side of the core lab and it is unaffected by this sweeping and acceptable in all conditions, mains and regulated, whereas on the starboard side all of the outlets from RP7 were affected except the ET shop which is fed via RP7 as well but does not have this interference (coming from a different phase). The Teka is currently situated on the starboard side of the ship.
It seems that our power cables coming from the mains regulator, at some points, are running close by or cross high voltage lines with heavy currents as would normally be for the ship's power with high inductive capability. These magnetic fields then get induced into the regulated power line causing this "ghost" 60Hz in the regulated mains background. The effect is pretty small as it cannot be picked up from the mains lines directly by the quality analyzer but the noise component carries through the UPS and instrument's low voltage power supplies as can be seen very clearly. This sounds very unlikely until you see it in reality. The noisy ship power does not affect the instrument but on the Regulated mains the "beating" frequencies with its products can be seen and is causing the trouble.
Jurie Kotze.

Fig. 1: labels and external measurement points on back of instrument

Fig. 2: internal splicing of power leads inside instrument
For video footage of noise, please go to the IODP_Share/Tech_Reports/TECH RPT 324/Teka and power noise videos folder.
Hard rock measuring setup:

Insulated box containing old Teka press for maintaining good contact between puck and sample. The box was usually a water bath as well, but water level was only allowed to be as high as the bottom 1cm of puck.
And the final word from Teka Berlin? …" We are really glad that you are able to measure now, at least with the UPS as a workaround. Many thanks to your electronics technician for his fine report. We would have sworn that it has nothing to do with power supply! This is a mechanism different from the influences of unstable power supply we know so far. Now we have to try and understand what exactly happens inside the instrument."
MAD analysis notes
Erik Moortgat
There were 181 samples taken for MADC analysis.
Being that this is the first time that hardrock samples were taken/analyzed on our "new" systems, the workflow/protocols had to be tweaked a bit.
Issues:

• The cubes sampled do not fit into the aluminum containers made for holding the hardrock samples. The mini-cores do fit but the cubes are a little bit too big. We are either going to have to do away w/ the idea of using the aluminum containers or have new ones made that will accommodate a cube. This would also involve getting new pycnometer cell inserts or at least the existing ones bored w/ a larger diameter hole to be able to accommodate a new (larger) aluminum container.

Since we could not use the aluminum containers, it was decided upon by one of the ADs to track the sample workflow using a Container number of zero. This was initially tried for a few samples. The LIMS workflow broke down because a container number of zero is used for sphere calibration and calibration verification tracking…this caused too any problems in the loop. A new workflow scenario had to be conjured up. So I made the decision to change the volume and mass of container number 1 to zero so when they entered a sample they would now track w/ container 1. This workflow "seems" to work fine.
Points:

• Samples taken for MAD analysis were also used for PMAG analysis and vice-versa.
• Samples were analyzed using MADC and not MADD (calculating wet volume from caliper measurements and measuring dry mass w/ the balance and dry volume w/ the pycnometer). The Scientists first placed the samples under a vacuum (90-100psi, checking every two-three hours for stability) for a period of 24 hours, to "saturate". Wet masses were then measured, samples dried and dry masses and volumes measured.
• Calibration verifications were performed throughout the Expedition, w/ the average percent differences of the measured sphere volume to its true value:

Cell 1: 0.39
Cell 2: 0.43
Cell 3: 0.42
Cell 4: 0.06
Cell 5: 0.11
Cell 6: 0.03 (one verification after new cell installed)

• The helium supply bottle was changed twice.
• User Guide and Advanced User Guide edits were made per Karen Graber's request.
• Exp 323/324 log sheets are being sent to IODP/TAMU to the attention of Rakesh Mithal.
• There were no issues w/ the balance hardware/software that I was made aware of.

Hardware:

• Two spare pycnometer cells arrived in the shipment to Exp324. It was discovered, during the replacement of cell 6 w/ one of these spares, that the wrong model was sent from Micromeritics (purchased incorrectly?). We received two non-temperature controlled units (90753/90754) even though in the shipping papers they are identified as temperature controlled. Cell 6 is being sent back to be repaired or used on shore for testing/development. The new cell 6 is going to be available to take measurements in but in a non-temperature controlled (not connected to the water bath) state.

Software:

• LabVIEW vis were created to facilitate the entry of sample information at the MAD station as opposed to the sample table. At the sample table the Scientists will still have to enter basic sample info (section interval information) and print labels but all the other bits of info will be entered at the MAD station. The user will no longer have to locate a textID for a sample in a table but instead all they will have to do is scan the sample label barcode when ready to run the sample in the pycnometer. They will have to scan the label of the sample of interest, enter the container number, the cell number, sample state (dry/wet) and comment (if wanted) and in the background, once this information is provided, the analysis will be assigned (depending on sample state) and test number provided.

These vis have been tested but not implemented in the production protocol of the MAD system as of this writing.

Descriptive and Interpretive Data Capture
Zenon Mateo
Summary
Expedition 324 is classified as a "hard rock leg" and therefore has demanded much use of the descriptive data capture system. Being the first time DESClogik is used for igneous petrology, petrography and structural geology, the template preparation had to be started back on shore, unlike previous expeditions where existing templates are simply modified. However, significant changes still had to be made prior to the first site, mainly due to the need for group consensus and for users to think along the rationale of DESCINFO. The results are well thought of and useful templates that captured most of the features encountered from the cores. However, there are still a few bugs and rooms for improvement that are listed in detail below.
A very important lesson from Exp 324 is the fact that users have preferences that are outside of the DESClogik system. Structural geologists need to sketch and annotate features on a piece of paper, but were later scanned and also uploaded to the database as part of their data. Petrographers still preferred writing down their observations on a piece of paper and later transcribing it to DESClogik because of their need for a shorthand way of registering data without loosing their concentration in working with the microscope. Afterwards, each discipline (igneous, alteration and structural petrography) would take turns in entering their data in DESClogik. With the number of people involved in petrography, they devised their own group workflow protocol that can be used as a reference for future hard rock expeditions.
A new reporting tool was written back on shore during this expedition: the Thin Section Report. This application, part of a future suite of canned reports, was necessary for viewing all data for an igneous thin section in one page. This application can be accessed in the Science Applications web page, under Data Retrieval.
Overall, the description software and hardware performed very well in meeting the requirements of this expedition. Most of the time, all four core description stations were simultaneously occupied by the igneous petrologists, volcanologists, alteration petrologists, structural geologist and sedimentologists (see photo below).


This multi-station set-up makes for a continuous and faster description of cores, thereby giving more time for scientists to look at and discuss about the features observed.  Two LED lights were installed in the port-side table and has improved working conditions there; by the end of the expedition, all ceiling lights in the forward part of the core lab has been replaced with the LED lights.  Having seen the utility of the current core description set-up in a hardrock leg, I would recommend keeping it rather than reducing it to just the starboard side, unless it can be designed to be modular and can be configured for a sediment or hardrock leg. If it is retained and users are encouraged, a back-to-back table can still benefit sediment expeditions, especially in a high recovery situations where two cores can potentially be described at the same time.
Participants

Type and Number of Measurements
Samples described: 857 samples (WTR Summaries result)
Results entered in database: 577,310
Equipment Performance Summary

1. Bugs
   1. Need to properly enter edited offset and depths into the database. As it is, new depth values are added instead of editing the previous value.
   2. The big red X still appears sometimes. Computer re-start always works!
   3. In some cases, especially when the "All Tabs" feature is engaged, the upload process would be interrupted. This would necessitate the re-download of data in DESC to verify which values were uploaded and to load those that were not during the first attempt. Whenever certain bugs appear, computer restart works well.
2. Software enhancements
   1. (Done) Two new versions (3.20.4.8) were deployed during this expedition that (2) included the MSPOINT analysis in the list, allowing the Graphical tracks to display such data, and (2) display a warning when a component was used in a dynamic column but is not contained in the tab (3) automatically concatenate names in lithology_name even if this component is not in the tab.
   2. Widen the Open Workspace window so that it displays the entire workspace name, especially for long ones like those of the thin section.
   3. For the XY plot types of the graphical type, default to having the minimum value at the bottom and maximum value on top.
   4. Remove tooltip windows
3. Notes
   1. Upload and download buttons need a sustained/deliberate mouse-click to work.
   2. Being a hardrock expedition, re-curation and depth-recalculation was always done for every core. When such steps are missed, it shows in the Graphical display as overlapping images. In such cases, the sample registry has to be corrected by the curator or developer.
4. Tech Tid-Bits 
5. Always bring to end of worksheet all of the hidden columns.
6. Hardware
   1. The 2 middle monitors on each description table are not easily viewed from the keyboard platform; users don't want to move the platform as much because it covers the core and also because of the keyboard and mouse cables. Those monitors are therefore used as an expensive "bulletin board". Potential solution is to (1) angle the inside or outside monitors or (2) put two smaller but wide-angle monitor below the big monitors for the TDC, tilted a bit backwards in order to have an easier ergonomic view.
   2. Keep the back-to-back core description table configuration: it's very helpful!

Miscellaneous
Hard Rock Expedition Checklist (Core description)

Hard Rock Expedition Checklist (Thin Section description)

NGR

Maxim Vasilyev
Analysis of radioactive element variations along the drilling hole depth.
Method and software program (alpha version) developed to calculate relative radioactive element variations along the depth. Program written using KUIP command processor language and working (right now) interactively within the PAW [1] (Physical Analysis Workstation) software package, which can be installed under both Linux/Unix or Microsoft Windows OS. In order to work, program requires as input: number of entries to be calculated and ASCII file name with input information. In such file on each line following information should be presented: core number, section number, detector, position, acquisition time for collected spectra, left channel and right channel for the peak range. Program will correctly subtract measured background, calculate square under the selected peak, approximate Compton spectrum background under the peak with linear fit and subtract it square from the peak one, after that it finally will present number of counts per second associated with peak under study, together with associate statistical error. By introducing the list of different detectors/positions for different core sections, the variation of particular radioactive element vs depth can be achieved. Method can't be used to evaluate relative concentrations of different radioactive elements between each other in the sample. Estimated systematic error of the method, when applied to the well defined statistically single peaks, is ~ 5% and is due to the deviations of Compton spectra background from linear under the peak of interest. Exact systematic error calculations to be done in future with Monte Carlo simulations. Program was used to determine variations of K-40 and then U-238 in hole U1346A. Taking into account measured spectra statistics and qualitative estimation of elements representation in the most of spectra, it is possible to conclude that such analysis could be made for all exp. 324 holes for the relative K variation vs. depth. There is no any restrictions for the beta version of program to run both interactively or in batch.
Monte-Carlo simulations for volume correction.
In order to calculate correctly radioactive element variations along the hole one should correct on the percentage of volume present in front of the detector. Information for approximately 60 data points (hole U1346A) from Section Half Image Logger about missing core section volume and it distance from NGR NAI detector center line was used in the Monte Carlo gamma source code to calculate corresponding detector response function. It was then applied to the data obtained for K and U variations along the hole.
Background measurements, variations in background at different sites.
As we had plenty of time, background was measured for each site (exception sites U1349-U1350, which placed very close, so for both of them background measured at U1349 was used) as well as at the very beginning of transit from Yokohama, Japan port. Obtained differences for all measured backgrounds are at the level of 1-2%. Additionally background measured near Yokohama port was compared with one measured near Victoria, BC Canada. As it is known that cosmic radiation mainly varies with latitude, one could expect more significant differences in these two backgrounds. Actually differences in background for different detectors was between 7 to 17%, depending on internal radioactivity rate of individual detectors. For the Bering Sea expedition typical core section rate for total counts was 35 - 38 counts/second, it is translated into additional 1.5 - 4% systematic error. For the measurement with much lower rates the error from the incorrect background will be much bigger. It is necessary to take into account that Bearing Sea expedition made their measurements much father to the north than Victoria, where the only one background was measured, that could brought sufficient systematic errors to the measurements. If it is so, it should be seen by the noticeably lower counts at the both ends of each core section. Special study is necessary in order to check and if necessary to correct Bering Sea expedition NGR results.
NGR final geometry in Monte Carlo program.
During the 2006-2007 the NGR Monte Carlo simulation program was written within the frame of the GEANT [2] software package. It was used to define the principal NGR design and to define it main parameters as well as physics characteristics of the system. During exp. 324 NGR geometry in that program was checked and exact dimensions from the actual production NGR drawings was implemented. The crossection of NGR geometry (the part important to simulate correct propagation of core originated gammas through the system) together with the gamma tracks can be seen at the figure from the file <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>trig_draw1.pdf</strong></span> The only one deviation from the real geometry in the program is the lead tube section immediately above the core pipe. In reality it is an elliptical tube segment, but such shape is not available in GEANT geometry package for tube sections, so it was replaced buy the cylindrical tube section with big diameter. The exact coincidence between geometry described in GEANT and the real detector is one of the most important requirements to have coincidence or very close behavior between simulated and measured spectra. As it can be seen from the spectra shown in the next section, the NGR geometry, described in our GEANT package, provide required high level of coincidence between the simulated and measured spectra. That way concentrations of U, Th, and K could be adjusted in order to obtain the best possible agreement with measured spectra. Figures in files <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1346a_16r_1a_d7p2.pdf</strong></span> , <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1346_5r_1a_d5p1.pdf</strong></span> and <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1348a_13r_1_a_d8p1.pdf</strong></span> show example spectra for holes U1346A and U1348A. Corresponding radioactive isotopes concentrations: U:Th:K = 30:1:63, U:Th:K= 10:0:1 and U:Th:K=10:1:3 Good coincidences between simulated (red) and measured (black) spectra can be seen.

Monte-Carlo simulations for the U:K:Th relative contaminations
Relative contaminations of U-238 and Th-232 series as well as K-40 isotopes in the core section material define the measured gammas lost energy spectra shape. Within GEANT package the gamma source user program was written earlier (based on the decay information from [3]) which simulate 68 gamma energies for U-238 series, 45 for Th-232 and 1 for K-40 with required probabilities. U, Th, K concentrations in the simulated core can be changed with the help of user defined card, without the recompiling the program.

That way concentrations of U, Th, and K could be adjusted in order to obtain the best possible agreement with measured spectra. Figures in files <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1346a_16r_1a_d7p2.pdf</strong></span> , <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1346_5r_1a_d5p1.pdf</strong></span> and <span style="color: #2300dc"><strong>gd_324_u1348a_13r_1_a_d8p1.pdf</strong></span> show example spectra for holes U1346A and U1348A. Corresponding radioactive isotopes concentrations: U:Th:K = 30:1:63, U:Th:K= 10:0:1 and U:Th:K=10:1:3 Good coincidences between simulated (red) and measured (black) spectra can be seen.





There are two regions with slight deviations between spectra's: one is at rather high energies with especially pronounced deviation at 1550 - 1650 KeV and another one at low energies, close to 100 KeV threshold. Deviations at high energy regions most probably due to the some calibration deviation from linearity and may be also due to underestimation of Bi-214 gamma lines intensities with energies between 1535 and 1635 KeV in the Monte Carlo gamma source program. Deviation at low energy region is due to the differences in the exact atomic composition of core section material in program and live. In Monte Carlo some averaged igneous rock atomic composition is used along with the real bulk density measured by GRAPE detector for particular core section measuring point in NGR. The actual atomic weight composition of core section material is not known, due to the absence of XRF on the board of JR. That composition can be measured later at IODP headquarters with newly installed XRF scanner, but good XRF system on board of JR could provide immediate information for Monte Carlo program on atomic composition of core. It is also looks that current Monte Carlo gamma source program significantly underestimate yield of Ra-226 with peak at 186 KeV. To be double checked and corrected on shore.
Described method can provide not only relative, but also absolute concentrations of U, Th, K. In order to do it correctly - additional Monte Carlo simulations of the detectors geometrical and energy efficiency should be done, together with double check in literature of total gamma yield per act of decay for all involved radioactive isotopes. Right now determination of relative U:Th:K concentration in core material could be done for any measurement along the hole depth, providing the fact that measured spectra for points of interest are statistically sound. For absolute concentrations of U, Th, K - or some limited number of points with undisturbed core section volume can be analyzed - or we should build the system which will be able to measure the actual volume profile along the core section and then use Monte-Carlo calculated detector response function to overcome effect of missing volume.

Calibrations with radioactive standards for spectral analysis.
While for the total counts measurement calibration with point like sources are possible and convenient (as it is fast procedure), for detailed spectral analysis such calibration can not be applied without intensive Monte Carlo simulations. Because of that and as we had necessary time, calibration with radioactive Th-K cylindrical standard was done additionally to calibration with point sources. Measurements, with standard placed above each of 8 NaI detectors, was conducted with acquisition time of 3600 s/position. (Standard calibration with point sources take 60 seconds/position). Obtained calibration found to be linear over all measuring region with good accuracy. Calibration coefficients for each detector was used for Monte Carlo vs. Data analysis development on relative U, K, Th contamination in core material.
Detector efficiency study with radioactive standards and Monte Carlo simulations.
The same calibration spectra measured with radioactive standard was used to study relative efficiencies of NaI detectors. As standard can not be centered exactly above NaI#1 and NaI# 8, for these 2 detectors edge correction procedure was applied.
NaI# efficiency
1 0.95
2 0.99
3 1.0
4 0.98
5 0.99
6 1.0
7 1.01
8 0.93
One can see that efficiencies are close to 1 with the exceptions of detectors with edge correction applied. In current data reduction software the possibility to apply individual detectors efficiencies was reserved, they just was equal to 1 for now. So, we can use real observed efficiencies in data reduction.
It can help a little bit to improve situation with data at the end of core sections to be too low, but main contribution to such situation coming from incorrect effective core section length due to much less then 100% rock core section filling at the beginning and end of core section liner.
With the help of Monte Carlo simulations the edge correction coefficients, measured experimentally back in College Station at spring of 2008, was checked. For that purpose U-Th-K gamma source randomly distributed over the 140cm long cylindrical core was simulated and gammas from it was propagated through NGR system with it's actual geometry described within GEANT detector simulation and description package. Edge correction coefficients for the range of distances 0-20 cm between the center of the edge NaI detector and edge of the core section was found to give the correct total counts within the 2% error. Total counts from the NaI detectors not affected buy the edge correction procedure was checked. It was found that most central detectors always returned higher counts, but effect is strictly below 1% and thus may be neglected.
Recommendations on the edge correction coefficient application to the data and volume measurement system.
One cm shift in effective core section length provide 12% reduction in edge correction coefficient and correspondingly in total counts for 2 NaI positions affected by core section edge from each side of the section. One possible solution, as we already know such tendency, is to apply shifted for 1 cm edge correction coefficients, so that they will start to represent most probable effective length, rather than the maximum length of the core section (what they represent most often right now).
In measuring the total counts from the rock cores the main uncertainty comes from the, so far, exact volume above NaI detectors. Fluctuation factor can be some times as big as ~10 . That reduce the significant of results to the simply qualitative level. But taking into account the curating method which are in use for the rock cores (rock from the each core sections are taken out, washed, core liner split into 2 parts, then rocks placed back with plastic dividers glued between them) we can build rather simple volume measuring system, which could use for instance linear laser scanner for volume determination. That is possible, as we can open the top half of core liner and that will make rocks cleanly visible for laser scanner. For each scanned volume profile the detectors response factors can be calculated with Monte Carlo in very reasonable time and used in the data reduction procedure. All other physical property loggers will also benefit if we will know exact core section volume profile.
Mechanical
No mechanical problems with NGR was found during exp. 324, except of single failure to take out of NGR heavy rock core section, as screw at the far from NGR end of the plastic road connecting titanium boat with actuator became loose.
Fix: Screw wrapped with thin Teflon tape and placed back. Never failed again.

• 1. of analyzed sections*
     305 core sections analyzed with NGR during exp. 324.
     Reference
     1. "PAW - Physics Analysis Workstation an Introductory Tutorial". CERN Program Library Long Writeup Q121. CERN Geneva, Switzerland,
     2. "GEANT Detector Description and Simulation Tool". CERN Program Library Long Writeup W5013 Application Software group, Computing and Network Division, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994.
     3. "Gamma Spectrometry of Natural Environments and Formations." R.M. Kogan, I.M. Nazarov and Sh.D. Fridman Atomizdat, Moscow 1969. Translated from Russian, Jerusalem 1971.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     Paleomagnetic Laboratory

     
     Margaret Hastedt
     Scientists
     Masako Tominaga, Claire Carvallo, Masahiro Ooga
     Interested bystanders/shadow Pmaggers: Helen Evans, Will Sager
     Overview
     This was a typical hard-rock cruise in that pretty much every piece of equipment in the laboratory was used for either treatment or analyses. With the notable exception of the cryomag, which was rarely used at all due to the strong suspicion of an ARM from its demag coils (primarily the Z-axis). It was occasionally used to measure a few discrete samples or to debug the new discrete SRM software.
     Problems:
     The number one issue this expedition has been the ARM from degauss coils affecting the inclination data from the cores. It was spotted almost immediately as the paleomagnetists were running the Leg 198 cores to high demagnetization levels (80 mT) during the first transit. As the demag sequence progressed you could see the inclinations get increasingly steep until they approached -90 degrees which was ridiculous for this area. Declinations changed very little which suggested that the Z-axis coil is probably the culprit.
     A variety of tests were performed to troubleshoot the problem. A field profile did not reveal any loss of trapped field, the SQUIDs were heated to release any trapped flux, and a detailed field profile of the degauss region was also performed to see if shield leakage was to blame for the DC part of the ARM. An axial component of the earth's field was present under the center of the Z-coil, but at maximum it was about 200 nT and usually a great deal less (heading dependent). We attempted to wrap a nulling coil at the shield break between the SRM proper and the degauss coil region but results were inconclusive. It would be much easier to see results in port when the ship is not moving so much.
     The ET's checked the Crest amplifier to see if there was any distortion in the output to the gray capacitor box per the field calibration procedure from the 2G degausser manual. The degaussing system was also checked for its calibration. The calibration coil (548.3 Oe/Volt) from the Dtech demagnetizer was inserted in the proper orientation for each coil pair. A small degauss field of 10 mT was run and the calibration coil moved until the maximum voltage was reached indicating coil center. Then the coils were ramped up in 10 mT steps and the voltages and Hz recorded. The following equation was used to reduce the data (from the Dtech manual):
     Produced field (Oe) = (voltage * coil factor * 1.414 * 100) / operating frequency
     The coils were still very good, i.e. the field you select on the front of the degausser is very close what you actually get from the coils. The check assures you that all axes are demagnetizing at the same requested level, but unfortunately it can't tell you if you're producing an ARM. The calibration check table is in Appendix 1.
     Later it was discovered that the black and white leads from the Crest amplifier to the gray capacitor box had been reversed from the normal installation, apparently after the amplifier was serviced for a noisy fan on Expedition 323. The leads were switched back and the calibration was checked again. No differences were found. Now the apparent ARM changes inclinations in the opposite direction, i.e. the inclinations become more positive instead of more negative according to the scientists.
     After still more research the ET's crafted a small circuit to check for DC bias in the degauss field's sine wave. Any difference between the positive and negative halves of the sine wave would create a net DC field and could contribute to an ARM, which is simply the presence of a DC field while AF demagnetizing. The circuit was modeled after a 1974 paper by Hailwood and Molyneux. The ET's halved the circuit from the paper in such a way that the capacitor and diode could be physically reversed on the board and used to measure each half of the sine wave, in order not to introduce any more error from slightly mismatched components. The results were sent to 2G for their comments and are attached in Appendix 2.
     Other issues: Two of the quartz boats for the thermal demagnetizer were unfortunately dropped and broken this cruise. We are down to our last 2 boats, so treat them with care!
     Tasks:
• Replaced all Harken pulleys on cryomag
• Haskris/chill water hoses replaced with stainless lines (thanks Roy Davis!)
• SQUID monitor program for noise, fluxjumping and VRMs
• DSC debugging and testing

Samples measured

• 177 discrete samples
• 219 split sections (all demags)

Appendix 1: coil calibration check

Appendix 2: DC bias checks
Note: configuration A measures the positive half of the sine wave; config. B measures the negative half.

Misc Notes:
Harken pulley model numbers:

• Cryo Line tensioner: (p/n 005) 3" block, racing single
• Vertical post 90° pulleys: (p/n 206) 2.25" block, upright lead

CURATION

Chad Broyles
Summary
Samples – A total of 4,397 samples were taken for Expedition 324. 2,853 were personal samples, and 1,544 were routine shipboard samples.
Shipments
Core – There were 113 cores recovered on Expedition 324. 70 boxes (Archive & Working) are being shipped to the GCR. In addition, the following whole rounds are being sent to the GCR: 321 U1338D 3H, Cores 1-5. Two boxes of Leg 198 cores were sent to the ship prior to Exp. 324 for training and core description. The staff scientist has requested that the following Leg 198 archive half sections stay on board for PR activities in Townsville: 198 1213B 28R1, 31R3, and 30R4. The following Leg 198 sections are being sent back to the GCR: 198 1213B 28R2, 28R3, 29R1, 30R1-3, 31R1, 31R2, 31R4, 32R1-5, and 33R1-3.
Residues – The residue distribution is as follows:
Residue Destination
CARBall to GCR
FORAMall to Ando
ICP all to GCR
MADC (PP)all to GCR
PALall to Ando
TSBall to GCR
XRDall to Delacour
Thin Sections – Gus prepared a total of 347 thin sections. This includes several duplicates that were made. Please see the Thin Section Inventory in the Curatorial Notebook for a complete listing. A complete list is also available from LIMS Web Tabular Reports by searching Exp. 324, with a Test List qualifier of TS. An excel spread sheet of this inventory is also being sent to the USIO Curator and GCR Superintendent.
Smear Slides – Sedimentologists prepared and described 106 smear slides. See the Smear Slide Inventory section in the Curatorial Notebook. A complete list is also available from LIMS Web Tabular Reports by searching Exp. 324, with a Sample Type qualifier of SS. An excel spread sheet of this inventory is also being sent to the USIO Curator and GCR Superintendent.


Processing of 198 1213B
20 sections from Leg 198 were sent to the JR for processing. Leg 198 was drilled on the Shatsky Rise. This was a sediment cruise where basement was drilled for one hole. Since this was a sediment cruise, the hard rock recovered had not properly been described by igneous and metamorphic scientists. These core sections were used by Exp. 324 scientists for training on the new shipboard systems, and to describe the material thoroughly. The Leg 198 sections were entered into the LIMS database. Also, some thin sections were brought on board for the 324 shipboard scientists to describe. These were also entered into the LIMS database.
Thermal Conductivity tests
This is the third cruise I have been on where the thermal conductivity system did not work properly. To test the new system, I allowed the Physical Properties (PP) scientists to test the equipment using the following hard rock piece: 198-1213B-28R-2 A Piece 3a. This piece was lightly polished to ensure the thermal conductivity detector had a flat surface for measurement.
324 Hard Rock Core Processing
The following is a general outline of how core was processed on Expedition 324. Note that there are several variations of this same process. This is what we found to be the most efficient for our cruise.

1. Section on the catwalk. Mark ~150 cm sections starting from the bottom and moving to the top. Cut into 150cm sections, if possible. At this time it may be necessary to push the core/rock to up towards the top if clear breaks are not at the 150cm cut intervals. Acetone end caps on sections. Tilt core liner so that the rock slides to the top of the sections.

1. Measure the rock material in each section, and enter into Sample Master as "Created Length". If you feel that the core will require an additional section(s), when curated, add an additional section with a "Created Length" of zero. At this time "Created Length" and "Curated Length" have the same values. (This is revisited in Part 9). Print labels for each section. The Created Length is what is used to compute core recovery. Put labels on sections, and engrave each liner with appropriate section information (Exp, Site, Hole, Core, Section, Half, up arrow).

1. Split core liner using the sediment module of the core splitter. That is, use the

blade/piano wire module omitting the wire. Split liner. It is common for blades to
break, so be careful. If the blade is catching on pieces within the liner tap on the
liner with a mallet.

1. Once the liner is split, lay the core section on the splitting table. At this time, the core will be in whole rounds. Be sure to cut the remaining portion of the top and bottom end caps with a box cutter. Remove the top half of the liner.

1. At this time, the curator takes a red wax pencil (china marker) and marks the bottom of all oriented pieces starting from the bottom of the section to the top. As the curator marks the bottom of oriented pieces, they should hand the pieces to a technician for cleaning. This should be done one piece at a time as keeping the orientation of unlabeled pieces is a crucial step!!

1. Once the pieces have been marked and cleaned the curator matches pieces. Pieces that match are contained in the same bin. Bins are created by placing plastic core dividers between pieces that do not match.

1. Once pieces are "binned out", the curator calls in the structural geologist that is on shift at the time. The structural geologist checks the binning/matches pieces, and makes appropriate changes based on their expertise. The curator should be there during this step. Once the appropriate changes have been made and agreed upon the structural geologist draws the split line. The goal is to divide features within the rock into two separate but equal entities.

1. Once the split line is drawn, the curator lays the corresponding empty liner next to each section containing the rock with bins. In the empty liner, plastic core dividers are glued in to place in the same location as the adjacent corresponding section containing rock/bins. This is accomplished by dipping plastic divider in acetone and placing them to the core liner in the appropriate location. This glues the divider to the core liner essential by melting them to one another. Once the dividers are glued in the empty liner, transfer the rock from one section half to the other. Now repeat the step of gluing dividers in the corresponding empty liner.

1. Important step: Once dividers have been emplaced in the liner, measure the "Curated Length". This is the total length of rock plus dividers in the section. The "Curated Length" is essential for recalculating depths. Also during this time, record the top and bottom intervals for each bin and the orientation of the piece within the bin.

9a) This information is now entered into Sample Master. The "Curated Length" has
to be "Edited" in the program. In the Hierarchy Search (under edit), click down to the core from where you would like to edit section information. Click on the Section Tab at the bottom of the interface. This is where you enter all of the new "Curated Lengths". Once you have entered these lengths, click the "Recalculate Offsets" button. Next, go to Tools>Admin>Recalculate Depths. The program will now ask whether you would like to recalculate depths from the selected core down. Click yes. You know this is complete when the program indicates "Awesome". Click OK. Now the depths have been recalculated based on the new "Curated Lengths" you just entered.
9b) The next step in this process is to enter pieces/bin lengths. This is done in the
Enter tab under Piece. This is straightforward as you just enter the information you
recorded from the splitting table directly into the program and Upload. Note that
orientation is also recorded at this time.

1. Once all the proper curated information has been entered and uploaded, place the empty section half with bins over the full half, and tape together in a few places. The core is now ready to be run through the whole round tracks.

1. Once the core is completely finished running through the whole round tracks, it is

ready to be split into working and archive halves.

1. In an orderly and consistent manner, place the sections onto the splitting table. Take off the top section half. You will now have a liner containing the core and its corresponding empty half.

1. You (with the assistance of 2 technicians) now begin splitting the core. If it appears the core will crumble upon splitting it is necessary to encase it in shrink wrap. If pieces are long enough, they may be split on the super saw. Otherwise, it is necessary to split them individually with the smaller, Fekler saw in the splitting room.

1. After splitting, place one piece in the archive half and one piece in the working half. It is essential that this is done the same way throughout the core so that each half has equal but opposite division. Essentially the splits are mirror images or one another.

1. Now flip the rocks over by rotating them counter-clockwise in the liner. You want to affix small labels onto the bottom side of pieces. Labels are placed so that when a person is facing the section with the blue end cap to the left and they rotate the piece counter-clockwise, the first thing they see is the label.

1. Now print out Brady labels in the following format:

324
U1347A
12R-1
1a ¿ W

1. Once the labels are on their proper pieces, affix them permanently with 5 minute epoxy.

1. Once the epoxy has dried, it is now safe to place the sections on the sampling and archive tables for scientific analysis.

Daily Shipboard Sampling
Everyday at noon the scientists, co-chief, and I would gather around the sampling table to discuss shipboard sampling. At this time, scientists would describe what was laid out on the sampling table. Then, each group who requested samples would explain what had been chosen. Samples consisted of thin section billets (TSB), XRD, ICP, and PP/PMAG. The scientists then marked their samples with a red china wax pencil, and filled out appropriate TSB forms. Once all shipboard samples had been marked, myself and the technicians on hand, would enter and cut all samples. XRD and ICP samples were then delivered to the XRD technician and chemistry lab respectively. Thin section billets were placed in a labeled box, in the core lab. The thin section technician would pick these up when he came on shift.
Entering Samples
Initially we began taking samples as an offset on the piece. This proved very arduous and time consuming. The person entering samples had to first write down the piece offsets on each section half using a ruler. Once this was entered into Sample Master, the person entering the samples did not know whether the offset recorded on the piece corresponded with the offset on the section half. The section half offset information only appeared on the label. Once the label was printed the entering technician needed to go though each sample, and see if piece offset corresponded to section half offset. This increased the time of entering samples by three or four hours. This method was also prone to many errors. Also we found out quickly that scientists were quite confused by this, and preferred to record samples as an offset on section half. It was decided by the Expedition 324 staff scientist that we could record samples as an offset of the section half. This is the method we used for the remainder of the cruise consequently saving large amounts of time.
End of Expedition Sample Party
The end of this expedition consisted of a 14 day transit from the North Pacific Ocean to Townsville, Australia. During this long transit, we had 4 sample parties for the scientists' personal samples. The following guidelines were used for each sample party.

1. Technicians lay out cores in various stations before 10:00.
2. Each station will be labeled with core numbers (Site, Hole, Core, Section) in sequence.
3. 10:00 to 13:00 hr: Individual groups of scientists go through and mark samples with personalized Sample Code Label Dots (provided by curator). To do this in an orderly fashion we ask everybody to follow the following order:

10:00 Ar/Ar requesters start selecting their samples for age dating. They will propose selecetd intervals for "adjacent sampling", and mark them with a white label. Adjacent sampling consists of intervals that several groups are interested in and that will age dated using Ar/Ar. This will also provide a comprehensive data set for these intervals.
10:30 General (fresh) whole rock, glass major and trace element requesters, and all igneous isotope geochemists come in and select their samples based on the "adjacent sample method" (or "community sample"). This should be as close as possible to those Ar/Ar samples that were selected as adjacent sample intervals (same piece as possible). Note 1: Of course you don't have to take all of your samples next to the Ar/Ar samples. You can still take additional samples somewhere else (according to your sample plan), but we should make sure that we have at least a number of pieces for which we will end up with the most comprehensive data set as possible. Note2: You can (and should) also select pieces/intervals for "adjacent sample" clusters where there is no Ar/Ar sample selected (not all units are suitable for Ar/Ar but might still be good fore every other geochemistry. Note 3: Adjacent sample intervals should get flagged with the white stickers provided by the curator. 
11:00 Alteration study sample requesters and general petrology (e.g. mineral composition, fluid inclusion studies etc) select their samples. These samples don't have to be near the "adjacent sample clusters".
12:00 All other requesters (paleomagnetism, structure, phys props, sedimentology –there might be pieces of sediments within the igneous material) come in and select their samples

1. 13:00 All scientists leave the cores alone. Sample Allocation Committee (SAC) reviews samples, and resolves conflicts (we will call in individuals if necessary, so please remain "on call")
2. 14:00 Each scientist makes second pass, and fills out forms with: Exp, Site, Hole, Core, Section, Interval etc., what kind of sample/size he wants in a provided list. At this time, sample location cannot be changed! Also, at this time each scientist marks the exact sample he/she would like to get with a red china marker.

6.  ~15:00 All scientists leave the core area (Note: Palmag and Microscope lab can
still be used but please don't hang out near the cores –Technicians need to
concentrate on their work). Technical staff committee (Curator/ALO) verifies
location of samples corresponds with each form.

1. Technical staff will enter all samples into Sample Master. Nobody needs to enter his/her samples. For each section, all samples that correspond to a sample code will be entered. Technical staff will label bags, start cutting, pack samples, etc…

Action Item
Thin Sections – Several thin sections made on Exp. 324 have been requested for borrowing. A complete list of borrowed thin sections is being sent to the USIO Curator and GCR Superintendent.
Problems Encountered
Core Splitter- The core splitter continuously broke blades, and split empty core liners unevenly. It seemed to be twisting the liner as it was splitting. We were unable to find a good solution to this problem. We had the best results splitting core liner with a single blade, and making two separate passes.
Computer Software and Hardware
SMCS – The SMCS system continues to be a major problem for curation. The entire system is disorganized, cumbersome, and not user friendly. It only serves as a sample request data dump of text and poorly formatted spreadsheets. The only way I am able to make sense of sample requests is to print them out, and put them into a notebook. It also takes a large amount of time to reformat sample request spreadsheets so they contain the information I need, and are printable. On all Phase 2 IODP-USIO expeditions staff scientists, Jerry Bode, and myself have spent a large amount of time creating outside excel spreadsheets just to make sense of the sample requests. On this expedition, several scientists lost all of the data they had input into the system when revising their requests. They were forced to start from scratch. I strongly feel this entire system needs to be re-evaluated and re-designed.
Sample Master- This is the first hard rock cruise that the new sampling program has been tested on. For the most part it performed well to fit our needs. For the first time in deep sea drilling history we record piece numbers and lengths as a standard set of data. The program was set up nicely for this and performed well.
However, the program still exhibits strange behavior. For example, it crashes when certain areas of the interface are clicked on. Also, pull down menus stop functioning after the program has been used for a while. It is hard for me to trace exactly what occurs here as it does not show an error message. It also would be a tremendous help to the curator if the Parameter Search is fully functional for bulk edits.
Entering Curated Length and Depth recalculation: At times when the Curated Length was entered on a section, the information was not carried down to the section half. There were times when the program set the curated length on the working half to zero. One difficulty we experienced has to do with recalculating depths. Every time Curated Lengths were entered the user has to recalculate depths.
Deleting sections: Many times on a hard rock cruise sections are created on the catwalk that end up being deleted when the core is curated. When you delete a section, the deletion does not carry down through section halves.


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DOWN-HOLE MESUREMENT LAB

Summary
Not tools were run this leg.







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THIN SECTION

Gus
Summary

• There were over 330 thin section requests of basalts as well as various volcanoclastics and sediments. It was a busy cruise. Routine maintenance and cleaning was performed as necessary and at the end of the cruise.
  
  Special projects
• None
  Problems encountered
• Replaced burned contacts in Thermolyne hot plate.
• GFI outlet L39-20-1 is faulty and scheduled for replacement during the transit to Townsville by the ships electricians.
• The PetroThin drive motor pulley is out of alignment with the spindle shaft pulley several degrees. It will be looked at on transit or in port. The motor mounts and/or a short drive belt are most likely the cause.
  Miscellaneous
• Both Logitech machines have been switched from ships power to regulated power.
• One of the older Edwards vacuum pumps that is presently in use with the PetroThin has been converted to use the new style exhaust mist filters. The new style filters have been added to the inventory.
  -Water was noted to be leaking from somewhere on the Barnstead water tank. The source was traced to a loose overflow water tubing connector on top of the tank.
  
  
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  CHEMISTRY LAB  

  
  Lisa Brandt¹, Kazuho Fujine¹
  Chapter

1. Overview
2. Summary of Chemistry Samples and Analysis
3. Individual Instrument/Analysis
4. CAHN Balance – JAVA balance system
5. Coulometer (CaCO3 content)
6. Element Analysis (TC analysis)
7. Gas Chromatograph (GC3) and H2 Generator
8. ICP - Element Analysis
9. LIMS/Loaders/Other systems
10. CAHN Balance System (JAVA Balance)
11. CHNS Loader
12. Ordered Items (out of inventory)
13. Others - Instruments/Analyses/Manuals
14. New Installed Equipment
15. Light - alkalinity counter and SRA counter
16. Return Shipments
17. Updated Manuals 1. Overview

Expedition 324 was a hard rock cruise drilling the Shatsky Rise. The main instrument used in the chemistry lab was the ICP. Carbonate samples were analyzed on the first two sites. Several manuals were also updated this cruise.
2. Summary of Chemistry Samples and Analysis

• Samples -

  Sample Name	U1346 A	U1347 A	U1348 A	U1349 A	U1350A	Total
  CARB	6	39	0	0	0	45
  ICP	24	40	13	13	43	133

  
  NOTE : One CARB sample, 324-U1346A-6R-2w 66/68 , was not delivered to chemistry laboratory. Sample obtained at site U1346A, were delivered by sedimentologists.

• Analysis -

  Sample Name	U1346 A	U1347 A	U1348 A	U1349 A	U1350A	Total
  Coulometer	6	37	0	0	0	43
  CHNS	6	37	0	0	0	43
  ICP	24	40	13	13	43	133

  
  3. Individual Instrument/Analysis (include bug report of loaders)

• CAHN Balance – JAVA balance system

CAHN balance with JAVA balance system was used to weigh samples for carbonate analysis and element analyses.
User registration was required for JAVA balance system, but procedure, especially a location of file was unclear. Instruction may need to be adding to user guide.
"Switching mass" and "Switching Level ID" trouble happened three times. Cause of issue was analyzed by chemistry technician, and reported to onboard programmer and onshore supervisors. Details were shown in chapter 4 of this document.
Calibration drift was evaluated at site. Based on results shown in the following table, higher mass has higher deviation. In addition, the gimbal table may doesn't make any better (we reported same comment/result to shore base supervisors during 321T). If we use the gimbal table during transit, serial cable must be disconnected because cable hit a table. If we do not have gimbal table, we will have more counter space for coulometer.

After talking with the programmers, it is thought that the reason for the drifted values is that someone pushed the "cal" or "tare" button on the CAHN balance and threw off the calibration. To get around this, we used the balance in the X-ray lab. The balance hardware cannot be recalibrated at sea. We could have changed the config file and made the software counteract the 103% error, but we ended up just using the XRAY lab balance. The balance basically needs to be re-tared once we hit port. The config file currently has a correction factor of 1. If the balance is hardware tared in port, this should fix the error. The ship is currently scheduled to come into port a day early. If so, we will re-tare the balance. If we don't come in early, the Canterbury tech staff will have to re-tare, or change the config file as necessary. Regardless, the Canterbury techs should check the balance before leaving port. A notice has been placed on the balance to remind them to do so. Coulometer (CaCO3 content)
Total 43 samples were measured. Instrument with operation software worked fine. Because of absence of KOH, Nitrogen was used as a carrier gas. Generally, most standards were coming slightly lower than 100%, usually 92-98%. The scientists decided this was acceptable, and corrected there results for that factor.

• Element Analysis (TC analysis)

The Flash EA1112 Element Analyzer (CHNS analyzer) was used to measure total carbon content (TC) in bulk sediments. Because He gas line has leak problem since Exp320T, two He gas bottles were placed at chemistry lab. Instrument with operation software, Eager 300, worked fine.
There was no standard sampling and sample preparation methods for hard rock samples. Samples at 1^st sites were very small, broken, and smashed when samples were delivered to chemistry laboratory. After measurement, sedimentologist was claimed for unexpected data. Drilling fluid and wax pencil were concerned as source of contamination. USIO chemistry technicians applied the following procedure to solve a problem;

• Request a wedge as sample. Don't smash before cleaning process.
• Cleaning – scrape off a line written by wax pencil using knife (knife was wiped by kimwipe with methanol). Scrape off all of edges without cross section. Put a sample into a cleaned beaker, wash a sample with nano-pure water using ultrasonic bath, < 60 sec. Put sample into new sample bag using forceps (do not touch sample by hand).
• Finally, sample was freeze dried over 12 hours.

NOTE: CaCO3, TC, and TOC measurements were requested for this cruise. Metal equipment (e.g., mill) should be cleaned by alcohol, but alcohol must be well dried. Glass vials were pre-baked in 350 degree C oven, > 6 hours.
Major problem for this measurement was "Switching mass" and "Switching Label ID" problem (see chapter 4) as usual. But it was first time that both problems happened simultaneously. In addition, CHNS loader (CHNS.exe) didn't like "I" (roman character), and so container number for 21 samples were exchanged to "-1" and was highlighted as error. Mass, Label ID and container number are essential factor to identify particular sample on the CHNS loader when user download aliquot sample information from LIMS (details will be described in chapter 4).
Data for site U1347 Hole A were not uploaded into LIMS through a loader to avoid any further confusion that will happen on data librarians. Summary files (.xls) were loaded using "File-to-Lims"
For site 1347 Hole A, 21 samples were re-measured because of the following reason: Sample holder was accidentally kept open during few hours. Several crucibles broke and sediments were spilled in sample holders. Because a set of sample (batch) didn't include QA/QC standard, we couldn't estimate background/contamination. In addition, even if we measure samples, data are incorrect because masses are incorrect. Also if we drop break crucibles in auto sampler, auto sampler piston (inside) smeared with sediments.
Text IDs for aborted (cancelled) measurement were as follows;

[Special Maintenances]
Bottom plate assembly of auto sampler system (AMS200R) was burned by acid during Exp323 (last cruise), auto sampler drum #1 was ordered. Although measurement has no problem, reference flow for leak check didn't get correct value since 320T. Reference gas valve need to be calibrate at next US port.
NOTE to technicians: Please use this specification - If reference flow shows 2 ml/min, carrier gas must be less than 5 ml/min. Gas flow difference between "Reference" and "Carrier" must be less than 3 ml/min.
MAS 200R shaft (piston) was contaminated before this cruise. Shaft got V2O5 (yellow powder) and tin crucible. Shaft was replaced, and inside of MAS 200R was wiped by cotton tips using methanol.
NOTE to technicians: You should cancel measurement if you find break crucible because spilled sediment/V2O5 will cause gas leak and contamination in MAS 200R. Also, you must carefully check chromatograms, and if there is no peaks, stop sequence and maintain MAS200R (No peak = sample didn't do into reactor).
NOTE to technicians: The end of sediment cruise, if possible (if you know how), you should replace a shaft, and then bring old shaft back to TAMU to clean him. Shaft must be send to Thermo to replace O-ring.

.
Gas Chromatograph (GC3) and H2 generator
Although any natural gas hazards were unexpected around drilling sites, GC3 was calibrated before 1^st site, and kept run at 1^st and 2^nd sites. After 2nd site, GC3 was turned off to save He gas because TO and TOC analysis was approved by Staff Scientists with higher priority than gas measurement.
Chemistry technician found GC3 and NGA data loader on the JOIDES web. But we didn't see any new (instruction) about these two new loaders during Exp324.
New standard gases arrived at Yokohama port, and inventory was updated. 31 standard gas bottles (include H₂S gas bottles) were stored under the island 2 (desk). This must be a one of HSE issue in this laboratory.

ICP - Element Analysis
133 sediment samples were analyzed with the ICP this cruise. The instrument ran well, and the scientists were happy with the results. Early in the cruise, we removed the left cover that surrounds the optics box, and attempted to relevel the instrument via the four leveling screws on the corners of the optics box. This was done to try and better center the torch in the RF coil, which should have eliminated the torch erosion we were seeing in previous cruises. While re-leveling seemed to help, all of the dual view torches showed a lot of damage on their segments. We replaced the dual view torch with the axial-only duratorch, (a torch that is slightly thicker in outer diameter) and the torch held up much better. Several of these torches were ordered for Canterbury.
We observed some nebulizer clogging on the last few runs of the cruise. We replaced the nebulizer and everything was fine.
The scientists developed a spreadsheet for reducing the hard rock data off the ICP. We saved this template on the chemtechshare folder on the Internet Station in the chem lab.
We developed a procedure for aligning the ICP. I wrote a very rough draft of a new segment of the ICP manual that focuses on the actual Instrument operation. A copy of this new section will be sent to all the chem techs, and to pubs staff on shore to be correctly formatted.
The gas manifold system was modified by Chieh Peng. The new setup requires you to initially spend more time hooking up gas bottles, but once all the bottles are hooked up, they are much easier to activate. We did find that some of the valves that were installed in order to serve as bleed valves were leaking. We removed these valves and installed plugs in their place, and just used the vent at the end of the manifold to purge the system. 4. LIMS/Loaders/Other systems

• CAHN Balance System (JAVA Balance)

1) "Switching mass" was major problem of this system since 320T. Based on iterative work flow test, cause of problem was detected in this cruise. Solid black line in a figure shows the correct work flow, which is introduced in the User Guide. If user do process "Search" to "Enter Container Number" during weighing sample and then press Get Mass button, assigned (selected) sample is associated with previous mass (= previous "Get Mass" action). The weighing takes 250 ~ 300 counts (4 ~ 5 minutes). Sometimes user assigns sample before press Get Mass button for want to occupation.
2) "Switching Label ID" happened several times during this cruise. Because user uses text ID to search sample, assign sample window shows only one label ID. User has to highlight sample before press Assign button, but sometimes user accidentally rush for a conclusion.

• CHNS Loader

Roman numbers are combated to "-1" on the CHNS loader (CHNS.exe). Only as a container number, roman number was used on JAVA Balance system. LIMS and Web Tabular Report accepted roman number, but CHNS loader doesn't like them (see following picture).

5. Ordered Items (out of inventory)
Flash EA 1112 Autosample (MAS200R) drum # 1, PN 240-101-35, $325.00
Flash EA 1112 Autsampler (MAS200R) assay piston, PN 34301512,  $450.00 x 2
Swagelok, Stainless Steel Plug for ¼ in. PN SS-400-P
6. Others – Instruments/Analyses/Manuals/General Maintenances

• New Installed Equipment

Air flow monitor (censer) was installed for four foods by ET. Blower of HF food has problem, so sometimes censor beeps. ET will work on blower issue with Transocean staff. Manual were stored in the "Manual drawer" @ Island 1 in chemistry lab.

• Ion Chromatograph

The Ion Chromatograph was not used science-wise this cruise, but it was turned on, had eluent run through it, and used for training purposes.

• Light - alkalinity counter and SRA counter

Over the counter that we used for alkalinity titration and water sample prep had no light. It would be nice if we have some lights that ET installed at core lab. SRA counter is also dark.Return Shipments
Discrete Analyzer (DA) was shipped from Yokohama, Japan, to Texas A&m University.
Mass detector with 6890GC will be shipped from Townsville, Australia, to Texas A&M University (Mr. David Houpt). Several consumables were packed with GC-MSD, but they didn't remove from inventory because they will back to JOIDES.
Shipment list are as follows (submitted to LO and ALO):

• Updated Manuals

Autotitrator User Guide: pH and Alkalinity
CHNS Analyzer User Guide
ICP-AES
Source Rock (SR) Analyzer Advanced User Guide
Source Rock (SR) Analyzer User Guide

• Water Leak

To prevent water leak, three sinks were glued by black epoxy.

X-RAY LAB / ICP PREP

Heather Barnes
Summary:
Expedition 324 was the first hard rock expedition since mobilization.
Analyses:
Total XRD: 112
Total ICP: 133
Equipment (work completed and problems encountered):
Bruker D4
We had a Bruker Service call at the Yokohama Port call. During Exp 323 'spiking' in XRD analyses was observed and thus a service call was requested to address this issue and to do a routine 'check up' on the XRD. The Bruker reps identified the spikes and through a series of tests concluded that it was the memory card in the CPU that was faulty and causing the observed spikes in the data. We found that spikes did not occur when using a small angle spread but did occur for larger spans. For example, a scan from 60-70 2-theta did not produce any spikes, where as a scan from 5-80 2-theta did give spikes. This suggested there was an issue with the buffered RAM in the CPU. The Bruker technicians would have replaced the entire CPU and Detector (these are a set) but they found that our detector was exceptionally good and thus decided to replace only the RAM card in the CPU.
In addition, during Exp 323 there was some scatter noticed at the beginning of scans, from 0 - 5 degree 2-theta. As I understood, it was suggested by US Bruker (prior to Japan Bruker service call) to adjust the beam stopper to prevent any x-rays from entering the detector at low angles as this may be attributing to the scatter as the low angles. The Japanese Bruker reps attempted to adjust our beam stopper but noted that we are missing a particular part that would allow us to adjust the beam stopper. They said our machine was not made to accurately measure below 3 degree 2-theta (if we wished to measure accurately at such low angles we should buy another machine that is made to measure at these angles) and that the observed scatter at the beginning of some scans during Exp 323 was not a result of the absence of the beam stopper. Since the replacement of the memory board I have not noticed any strange scatter at the beginning of the scans. They suggested we range our scans from 2.5 to 80 degree 2-theta. I ran all scans from 3 degree to 80 degree 2-theta without any problem.
ICP Bead Maker
We had a service call during the Yokohama Port call. Kuro dealt with this service call because it was difficult for me to communicate with the Japanese reps. As I understand they did a routine check on the instrument and adjusted all our setting to the optimal levels. They said that, our machine is aging and the settings needed to be adjusted to obtain a correct temperature to voltage calibration. They suggested we buy a new motor (this is the squeaking sound the machine makes during the agitation phase). They also suggested we purchase 2 new quartz cups/temperature barriers (one for the inside where we place the crucible for heating and the other for over the cooling fan) and covers for our crucibles (covers help maintain heat in the crucible and may help to prevent any loss of material).
However, the 'optimal' settings they made could not melt the standards at a temperature display of 1025 degree Celsius, when I went to make that first set of standards. Obviously their adjustment of the voltage to temperature readout (done internally on one of the cards – see manual) was incorrect and provided a false or incorrect temperature display. Knowing that the standard powder and flux mix beads at 1025 degree Celsius I adjusted the voltage (minimum required to form beads) and assumed this was about 1025 degree Celsius (although the temperature display read 1150). The standard data was good and the chemists were happy with the results using the above settings. It was just frustrating and an unneeded annoyance that the "service call" actually disrupted the settings and temp-volt calibration. The bead maker worked better before the service call.
During the last site the thyristor in the beadmaker short circuited. Jurie Kotze examined the machine after it failed to heat up and I noticed an electrical burning odor. He concluded that the thyristor failed and found a loose cable connecting to the thyristor that may have attributed to the short circuit. Unfortunately we could not find any spares onboard and so were unable to finish the last sites beads in the bead maker. We used the LOI furnace for the final beads (I wrote up a method in the manual if ever we need to resort to this method again). Spares are being shipped, I do not know if they are due to arrive in Townsville.


Sample Prep
XRD: I used the quartz disks several times and they worked very well, especially for making slurries. Two quartz disks in the sample holder were sufficient for filling the sample holder when we had very small amounts of sample material. I also used the plastic white sample holders for smaller quantities of sample - these are ideal. I would suggest ordering more if the opportunity ever arises.
ICP: The rock crushing apparatuses were used full swing during this hard rock expedition. I requested 2 more tungsten carbide balls to be ordered for the mixer mill because the ones we currently have seem to be pitted and I am not entirely sure they are tungsten carbide. Nevertheless we used the balls onboard with out any notice of contamination in the ICP analyses suggesting that they are tungsten carbide.
The platinum crucibles are not in the best condition. Although they were remolded before Singapore they still have several pits in the bottom. I polished the bottoms with a diamond paste (Grade 30 – more is ordered and it is on inventory) and the crucible polisher. It worked very well in removing surface scratches, but the pits are too deep to remove. Polishing is not a technique we should use often as it will wear away the Pt, but it did help prevent any further sticking of beads. I suggested that we have the crucibles remolded during the four month down time in the spring. Chieh is checking cost.
Other Issues
XRD software: It would be very helpful to the scientists if the XRD technicians were trained in the software (EVA and TOPAS). None of the scientists onboard Exp 324 were familiar with EVA and thus some lost time was spend in trying to learn the EVA identification software. EVA is the main software used, but I am sure TOPAS is very powerful – if only we knew what it did and how it did it.
The LOI furnace is not getting up to the desired temperature of 1050 degrees. The electrician concluded that it is due to the power supply (outlet) supplying 208 Volts. The furnace element is set for 220 Volts and thus it cannot reach this temperature with only 208 V supply. The ET's have noticed this problem (lower voltage prevents equipment from reaching desired output) and are in the process of sorting out the issue. The scientists onboard were ok with the oven only reaching 985 degree Celsius for LOI. However, because we had to make beads in the furnace for the last site, the ET's hooked up a step up transformer to the oven to provide higher voltage (~ 212 voltage was reached) and the oven reached 1020 degree Celsius without any problems.
Documentation
I have updated the ICP hard rock procedure manual and Karen Graber is in the process of integrating this into the final document. No pictures have been added – we should work on this aspect and place the screen shots/pictures into the Sceen Shot folder you set up on desk top. The chemistry technicians are going to revise the ICP analyses part of that manual. I am also in the process of updating the XRD manual.






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MICROPALEONTOLOGY /MICROSCOPE LABS

Zenon Mateo
Summary
Expedition 324 on Shatsky Rise is predominantly a hard-rock expedition with about 12 igneous petrologists and volcanologists, 3 sedimentologists and 2 micropaleontologists (nannofossil and planktonic foraminifera) on board. Needless to say, all microscopes were fully utilized in the core lab. The Axioskop 90208 from shore was brought in from Yokohama and was used by the sedimentologists. Three new cameras were also brought on board, which equipped all remaining microscopes with imaging capability. Along with these hardware are several copies of the SPOT advanced software that were used to upgrade some of the workstations. Most workstations have also been calibrated to allow digital scale bars to be added in captured images.
A flatbed scanner was also installed in the smear slide station for acquiring full thin section images, especially for the large format types. The software (EPSON Scan) is installed in the Windows PC forward of its location. The only things missing are polarizer sheets, but were not too critical in the petrographic analysis.
No outstanding issue with the micropaleontology lab, except for the need for cleaner slides.
As of the writing of this report, there are 350 thin sections, 105 smear slides and 59 mechanical fractions examined in this expedition. Of these, 133 thin sections were imaged, from where 1,260 representative or standard photomicrographs were taken and uploaded into the database using MIMC. Several more special photos were collected and are systematically stored in the network folders.
Descriptive biostratigraphic data were entered through DESClogik. Software upgrades on the template-workspace relationship implemented in the previous expedition (323) greatly improved the usefulness and versatility of DESClogik for micropaleontologists.

Overall, these hardware and software additions greatly enhanced the capability of the microscope laboratory and met the high workload required by this expedition. At present, we have a total of 6 Axio microscopes, all fitted with cameras. Nonetheless, several items are listed below that need to be addressed in the near future.
Equipment Performance Summary
Instruments: new additions
1. Axioskop 90208 was brought to the ship from shore in order to replace the Photoscope III in station U6 at the Smear Slide Station (SSS), which has been requiring a lot of maintenance work and proven to be stressful to use by the scientists and technicians.
2. Three brand new SPOT cameras were also brought on board during the port call in Yokohama, Japan: two RT3 Slider CCD cameras and one Idea 5PM CMOS camera. RT3 Slider 90761 is currently attached to Station U1 (Axiophot 90257), whereas the Idea 5MP is in Station S2 (SV-11 90228).
The Idea 5MP CMOS camera can also be used directly with the microscope in the Microbiology Lab, which is already equipped with the proper C-mount. The second RT3 Slider CCD camera acts as a spare at the moment, especially with the camera in Station U2 showing some signs of amplifier problem (see below). Otherwise, the proper adaptor is needed to attach such camera to the binocular phototube of the Microbiology Lab Axioplan2 imaging microscope.
These transferred and newly acquired equipment are updated and included in the MicroscopeMaster 5000 database.
3. A flatbed scanner was installed right next to the UV lamp box in the SSS. This is used primarily for taking full thin section scans and also for scanning core sketches that are subsequently uploaded as distinct files in DESClogik.

Instruments: Issues

1. Problem: At the beginning of the expedition, the live view window in the SPOT camera software is split; only the right half shows the image and the left is black. Nonetheless, if an image is taken, the entire camera's field of view is captured. This happened for both of the U2 and U3 stations (SPOT RTKE CCD camera 90490 and 90442)

Cause and Solution: One of the two built-in amplifiers installed in each camera malfunctioned or automatically turned off. Short-term solution is to power-down the camera for a while (it's a very good practice anyway to turn them off when not in use). The next time it is turned on, the full live image will be displayed. For the rest of the expedition, this problem did not re-appear. In case this problem persists, a brand new spare camera is on board as a replacement. This new camera can also be used as the primary and one of the older RTKE models as a backup. If the amplifier issue becomes more prevalent, the camera will be returned for fixing to Diagnostic Instruments in the next port call.

1. Problem: The Axioplan 90229 in station U5, used for nannofossil analysis, could not achieve proper cross-polarization.

Cause and Solution: In Expedition 321, this same microscope had a problem displaying the correct phase contrast due to a loose phase ring lens in the condenser turret. However, this time, it's the polarizer lens that was unglued. It was fixed by re-aligning the lens but a more permanent solution will be made after during the port call.

1. Problem: The live image for the SPOT RTKE CCD camera in the SSS microscope has a very slow response time.

Cause and Solution: No diagnosis yet as of press time; could be related to the USB port that the camera is plugged into.

1. Issue: Images taken with the SV-11 stereoscopes and attached Idea camera are blurry and not at all good for publication.

Cause and Solution: One of the possible cause is that the SV-11 microscopes have a very shallow depth of field. Consider purchasing a digital microscope, such as Keyence, that can incrementally capture and stitch images of high-relief specimens.

1. Others

Supplies

1. Need replacement polarizers for the reflected light configuration for all U2, U3, and U6.
2. Need polarizing sheets for flatbed scanner.
3. For the next hard rock expedition, we need proper boxes for large-format thin section.
4. Need to put together a decent cleaning and maintenance set for microscopes.

Calibration
A large-format thin section was received from Gus Gustavson to use for routine microscope alignment and calibration (in addition to the "flea" mount that has been used in the past).
In addition to the mini-scale tables taped next to each microscope station, the objectives have also been digitally calibrated to obtain scale bars for each image acquired. To install:

1. 1. 1. Open an image (or close the live view window)
      2. Setup > Calibrations
         1. Add an objective and select calculated (less accurate) or user-defined (need the micrometer slide; more accurate), OR
         2. Import from T:\Share\Microscopes*.SPX
      3. Edit > Set Calibrations
      4. Edit > Add/Edit Calibration Marks

For more detailed instructions, please refer to the SPOT Help menu.
Note on B2: The current calibration file is a generalization based on objective magnification. Minimal inaccuracies may exist due to inherent differences among objective types and the relay optics within a microscope. Ideally, individual objectives should be calibrated according to which microscope it is attached.
Software

1. MIMC really needs to have a sample search function.
2. MicroscopeMaster5000:
   1. need to add new categories and functionalities
      1. Camera where the unique parameters would be resolution, sensor type (CCD or CMOS), lens mount,
      2. Bulb and Power Supply where the unique parameters would be voltage, wattage, quantity on board
   2. alphabetically arrange entries per category
3. DESClogik

Miscellaneous
For the next hard rock expedition, Station U1 (Axiophot) needs to be re-configured for plane polarized reflected light. This microscope was initially set-up for reflected fluorescence method. At the minimum, one of the three filter lenses mounted in the slider should be removed or replaced with a blue or density filter.
An SV-8 stereoscope was set up in the Chemistry Lab for picking minerals to analyze.
Both Photomicroscope-IIIs are now in Station U4 (forward starboard side of lab). They were not used during this expedition and are just onboard as backup equipment, or could be sent back to shore for better use. Station U4 is therefore used primarily as a work desk, but could potentially be occupied by a new microscope.
The Microscope Lab is really lacking in a good stereoscope that has a wide depth of field that would allow acquisition of good images of 3-dimensional specimens like forams or other body fossils or crystals embedded in section halves.  I propose that we try to have a second look at the Keyence digital microscope that allows incremental imaging and stitching of 3D specimens and also create 3 dimensional surface models that would be ideal for morphometric analysis.

SYSTEM MANAGER'S REPORT

Matt Nobles and Andrew Trefethen were the Marine Computer Specialist for Expedition 324.

Information Systems

Summary:

The IT infrastructure performed as intended with minimal interruptions to operations. Approximately 800 meters of cores were recovered with its associated data. There were minor changes to the ship board network infrastructure that were a continuation of the major changes during the last Expedition. Some operation issues persist, Apple File Protocol on the Novell OES servers continues to present challenges with unique character issues and PC users, The OES nodes had a couple instances of locking up, or loosing contact with the other nodes.

Servers (Microsoft):

• Began the installation of Windows updates .
• Worked on a Hyper-V server installation to replace physical nodes with a virtual nodes on one physical server.
• Updated the MCS website with additional information as new solutions were identified.
• Rigwatch was moved from a Xw4400 to Krakatoa. Some issues that have been discovered while moving. To allow the Video displayed on the Vbricks we had to disconnect the video from the kvm in the server room. Also it is not possible to login to the console with out logging the Rigwatch account out.

Servers (Novell - OES):

• Discovered that a utility used in the past could cause problems with files on JR1. The utility is the special character changing code. It changed filenames in Labware in share. It appears that the program was run with Admin privileges that allowed it to touch files it should not have.
• File naming conventions continue to be a challenge for Mac users. Users encountered various scenarios where they were unable to access or edit their personal or shared files. The problem remains special character usage in file naming schemes. Mac users can utilize unique characters in filenames that PC users regard these same characters as syntax modifiers and lock the file when encountered. We notified everyone multiple times to not use and special characters when saving files to the servers or their systems.

Servers (Sun Solaris):

• No issues on this Expedition.

EVA4000 Storage:

• Plenty of space available.
• No problems encountered with storage array during this expedition.
• One of the battery assemblies

Network:

• Some changes to which computers have internet access and which do not.
• Lost internet a couple times due to location of the sun satellite and the Dish. In addition, the aft satellite antenna failed due to electronic problems, later fixed by the electronic technicians.
• Had to make a return trip to Yokohama due to satellite outage. A technician was brought out to the ship, and the problem ended up being incorrect settings on the modems.
• Found that VBrick Encoders could be tuned a bit more. We turned off the audio on the encoders and set to Variable bitrate constant frame rate to lower the ship's network usage on the core deck.
• Created a Lag connection to the Core deck to increase bandwidth.
• Found one WAP that was not working correctly on the Core deck replaced.
• Updated the hosts file to correctly reflect printers and dns names.

Printers and/or Printing:

We installed upgraded iPrint software and drivers to support new drivers.

We installed the correct printer drivers and CUPS (common UNIX printer server) so one scientist could print well.

We replaced many toner cartridges and performed maintenance on printers throughout the ship.

Found a setting on the printers that was not allowing workstations to receive automatic configurations from the printers.

Personal Laptops:

Each workstation was configured to use browsers with the ship's home page as the default web page. In addition, mail clients were configured to use the ship's mail system. This strategy was part of a plan to reduce unnecessary internet usage.

Many workstations had difficulty in reaching the ship's network from time to time. In some cases a simple power cycle is all that was needed. In other cases servers needed to be powered cycled. Sometimes a middle-of-the-road effort was required by restarting certain services to enable network access.

Each scientist's computer was checked for viruses and a virus checking program. Where the virus checking software was missing, it was installed. In this manner, the health of ship's network was ensured.

• After the scientist's computers were found to be virus free, each scientist's computers were granted access to the ship's network by the installation of the Novell client software. In addition, the windows update service on their computers were revised to point to the ship's windows update service.
• Each scientist had their own personal ship's e-mail account and were provided GroupWise e-mail software with which to receive their e-mail. Some scientists elected to use their own e-mail client with which they were already familiar. These scientists had their client configured to receive ship's e-mail.
• Each scientist's computer was recorded with their unique Mac addresses for efficient management and identification.
• In many cases we assisted the scientists in getting past the initial assessment of the Enterasys network management software.
• The accommodations staff had virus problems that were resolved by the MCS staff.

PCs Workstations:

• Each windows workstation's automatic update service has been reconfigured to allow that system to talk to the Wsus server correctly.
• The Windows OS on the workstations are updated often while instrument hosts will be updated during the end of the expedition.
• Changed the admin password on most if not all workstations
• Installed flash on Will Sager's workstation
• There was one workstation that was showing a failed hard drive. It was replaced and tested in the mcs office.
• Near the end of this expedition, the windows update service on each instrument host computer will be upgraded and grouped into the "Instrument Host" update group to prevent updates to windows from happening until no longer needed by the scientists.
• Found that the Thermcon computer would only get reliable measurements when plugged into the "ship" power. We have a UPS installed to protect the computer from power spikes.
• The core tech shop had a never ending assessment on one of their computers. It was rebooted and the problem went away.
• Restored some files from back up tape at the users' request
• Removed the iodptech account from most workstations.

Apple MAC Workstations:

• Downloaded and installed a new version of Mcafee antivirus for the Apple computers.
• Installed silverlight on macs where requested
• Removed iodptech from most workstations.

Equipment Repairs:

• Three VBrick decoders failed during this trip. All three were easily repaired by replacing the riser cards. The VBrick in the conference room was on the wrong VLAN and was corrected.

Special Projects:

• Completed several video conferences with great success, involving the University of Virgin Islands, Tokyo museum of natural history and science, Maryland Science Center and the Smithsonian.
• Placed a DVR and monitor in the DP office for core event recording
• Downloaded and saved to disc Scientific LINUX for Maxim Vasilyev for his NGR projects. Added a monitor to his work area.
• Moved 2 uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for power condition of his equipment requested by Gus.
• Moved 1 UPS to the movie room at Etienne Claassen's request
• Successfully flashed the bios of Andrew Greene's computer to get his computer operational once more.
• Installed several USB extensions, power strips and additional video cables in microscopy to enable the use of all available equipment.

Software Administration

• Installed Google Earth where requested by scientists.
• Placed upgraded library of technical documents (TechDoc) in Cumulus
• Computers with Spot software needed user access granted, per Zenon Mateo's request
• Reset Cumulus passwords for Roy and Steve
• Reset invoked software from adobe reader to illustrator for illustrator files
• Worked with File Catalyst support to try and get it to work over the satellite. It never did work, so the issue was returned to shore.
• Changed Jörg to Joerg in Console One to make it easier for GroupWise users to find him in the address book.
• Restarted GroupWise web access several times to allow users to use a browser to check their e-mail.
• One of the users moved their mailbox into the calendar and felt like all the e-mail was lost – this was solved by moving the mailbox back into the proper place.
• In Cumulus, gave Kazu Fujine permission to transfer documents to her desktop.

ELECTRONICS SHOP

J Kotze, and E Claassen
Summary
It was a routine Expedition in the ET shop with repair work and several projects.
Core Lab
Installed LED lights in core lab at though out the lab.
Performed magnetic field strengths tests on P-mag demagnetizing coils X Y and Z axes to determine if demagnetizing phases are in balance, output voltage differentials are within 1% as given in manual. (Upper and lower halves of the demagnetizing sine wave)
These measurements were made with the aid of a detector circuit that was built similar to an AM detector circuit, which is connected to the P-mag's test coil supplied with the instrument. The detector circuit is kept with the P-mag for later testing and reference.
Symmetry and output measurements were taken on the Crest Audio power amp and it seems to be in good condition.
A set of two rf- antennas were built and tuned to measure the magnetic field leakage into P-mag, the instrument setup are prepared and calibrated and will happen during the rest of the transit. Scientists still working in the area and tests will commence as soon as all is cleared and a bit of time available as it might take a couple of hrs. This will be done with a rf-sweep signal that will be transmitted from a RF spectrum analyzer via a transmitting antenna outside the P-mag and a test antenna that will be placed inside, feeding any residual test signal present in the inner environment back to the analyzer, It will be measured in different areas and axes on the core tray inside. Open ends will be plugged with aluminum foil plugs to prevent any signals entering there. Printouts will be made of calibrated setup and measurements.
Core splitter room
Installed new magnetic brake on core splitter motor controller.
Repaired safety warning light & fitting for super saw.
Installed mains outlet plug under core splitter table, connected on breaker L38-9 on a ground fault interrupter circuit.
Repaired curator fan used for core drying, cable replaced with longer cable. Repaired foot switch for Felker core cutter saw, pin corrosion cleaned and bush lubricated, switch on pedal was set to switch-off earlier.
Two heat guns were repaired for core shrink rap, one new heat gun's electronic control circuit board could not manage to get the heat up high enough and a new manual circuit was built for it.
Installed new solenoid on drill press, wiring and water line connected.
Phys props
TEKA thermal conductivity meter had problems running of regulated mains but got stable measurements running from ship supply or UPS. An extended investigation was done on this strange occurrence. A full report was issued c/w images and movie clips of O-scope readings. It was sent out to interested parties. A possible solution to the problem will be discussed and decided upon.
Cell 6 on the pygnometer was exchanged for a new one from C/Station. It will be send back to vendor for a transducer checkup after unstable readings without traceable gas leaks.
Paleo lab
Installed new airflow sensors in hoods c/w new cabling and new airflow piping.
Microscope lab
Repaired light source for microscopes, lugs burned on light fitting. Repaired power supply bypass trip switch and installed an inline fuse.
A second microscope power supply failed and a new voltage regulator board was built and installed.
Made up cable for MP3 players

DHML
Chem. Lab
Install new airflow sensors in hoods c/w cabling and new airflow piping.
X-ray lab
Bead maker failed close to the end of cruise, spares ordered and a mains transformer was installed on the lab furnace to get ship mains to 230V. The necessary temperature could not be reached with ships 208V supply. 1040 deg. Celsius could now be reached instead of the 975 deg earlier. This enabled the lab tech to use the furnace as a "bead maker".
Thin section lab
Internet
Repaired faulty fuse holder on Aft Rignet inverter (inside receiver dome), repaired dipswitches on power supply, replaced fuse. Reset, system check, all in order.
Sub Sea

Underway lab
Extended cable for temporary magnetometer used during this expedition.
Entertainment
Gym
Made up cable for MP3 players.
Movie room
Removed overhead projector in movie room after failure during the onset of expedition. Opened and checked, cables damaged inside the entertainment cabinet causing system to fail and will be send back to be repaired and serviced by vendor. A report was issued to parties of interest.
Removed all equipment from cabinet, secure cabinet to wall, cut holes for cables.
Re-installed all equipment back in cabinet, checked and tested equipment all working. Repaired "Monster UPS" for rack equipment - no output, repaired dry joints and faulty components.
Projector needs a new lamp and a spare will be purchased as part of service .New (used?) Spare seems to be open circuit.
Built and secured a back wiring cover for amp and DVD player preventing back entry to cabling from the front.
Rerouted and reconnected all cables back on system. Installed padlock on front of cabinet sliding rail. Keys will be at the ET's who in turn will assist when necessary.
The 2^nd projector from the conference helped out during the expedition.
Conference room
Pallet store & Storage bay
Storerooms
Work to be completed on transit
Install 21 LED ceiling light panels in core lab to replace fluorescent lights.
P-mag signal tests as indicated earlier in this report.
General
Tiding up of work place, in surrounding areas. General duties as packing away equipment and helping with cargo.

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PUBLICATIONS SPECIALIST

Kelly VonDrehle
Library:
No new publications received.
Summary:
Five sites were drilled. I used two programs to export the data from the database and format it correctly to import into Strater. The export programs included Lims2Excel and Desc2Strater. One setback was the export programs mixing the sediment and hardrock data. It was not difficult to sort them, it just added on an extra 30 minutes per hole to organize the data into hardrock and sediment excel files. There was no clarification which ones were hardrock and/or sediment. You would have to do this every download. Another difficulty with Lims2Excel was attempting to download all data for the entire hole starter file. This included a lot of data, but I was informed that lims2excel should be able to handle this because it seemed to be working on other computers onboard. Fackler reviewed the problem and currently it is working fine. It is just important to completely close the program after each download. Then reopen if you are going to download again. I did not have any problems with DescToStrater. Another good thing is to download images from DescTo Strater, instead of Lims2Excel, it seems to cut the download time in half. You can download Lims2Excel and DescToStrater data at the same time. This seems to cut the overall download time in half.
Also, I have created 3 VCD notebooks, one for my office, one for the core lab, and one for the co-chiefs office. These were what I used to display the VCD's. I would update them daily. These notebooks included hardrock and sediment VCD's. The VCD files were broken down differently for hardrock and sediment. Hardrock VCD's were displayed as one section per page, and sediment VCD's were one full core per page. The hardrock printouts included the VCD and a word file for each section. The word files will be entered into the VCD via Illustrator back on shore. I did a firm request to the scientists to upload the word files into the database so they should be there; I will also bring the word files and printed versions home.
It was very helpful to have someone in the core lab at all times while the YEOP is on shift. Zenon was extremely helpful with everything, especially when it came to me discovering problems in the database. He would act as the middleman between the database and the scientists and make sure the database remained organized and all "unnecessary data" was removed.
The science reports overall seemed to be turned in on-time, although starting off on the expedition the scientists had more trouble because the difficulties and learning curve with DescLogic. The transit from the final site to Townsville is approximately 14 days. This should give ample time to complete the remaining site reports and complete the final corrections of all the Strater files for U1346, U1347, U1348, U1349, and U1350.
Special projects:

• All paperwork that needed to be filled out by scientists and tech was taken care of at the beginning of the expedition. This included documents for cell phone usage, survival suites and room deficiencies, communication policy, and the photo release. I added in a signature column on the photo release document because people would sign their name and it would be illegible, now they can print their name and provide a signature.
• Assisted Staff Scientist with the weekly photo selection and caption writing for the IODP website. Ten to fifteen photos were selected and captions were written. After photos and captions were approved, I informed John Beck, the image specialist, and he made sure they were sent to shore.
• Created and implemented all Strater files and adjusted any and all aspects when requested by the staff-scientists and/or the scientists. Also worked with Zenon about removing unnecessary data from the database
• Created and updated daily (3) VCD notebooks. This displayed the Strater files in an organized/printed manor. The notebooks were located in the YEOP office, core lab, and the co-chiefs office. It took a little extra time to do this, but the scientists and the co-chiefs seemed to greatly appreciate it.
• Assisted travel department of with hotel requests for science party.
• Planned and created decorations/announcements for themed "Humpty-Hump Day" dance party, T-shirt design contest, all birthday parties, end of expedition Halloween themed dance party, and the equator crossing.

Problems encountered:
As mentioned before in the summary, one of the biggest problems with Lims2Excel was separating hardrock data from sediment data. If we could just add another column in the database for clarification, for ex. an HR for hardrock and SED for sediment that would be very beneficial. Also be sure to clarify at the beginning of the expedition the limit for sediment VCD's. Towards the middle of this expedition, Joerg and I came to the conclusion that we will only produce a sediment VCD if they have a least one FULL section worth of data. This only refers to a core with mixed hardrock and sediment. If the core is solely sediment, we will create a VCD despite the amount of sediment in that section.
In comparison with Expedition 320, transferring data from DescLogic to Strater has made vast improvements. Although there are still problems that occur when downloading mass quantities at one time. I was originally informed that this shouldn't be a problem, but it seemed the more data we got in the database the less the program would let me download. Hopefully those kinks will work out in the future, but for right now, I was breaking down the Lims2Excel template into 3 Lims2Excel downloads and 1 Desc2Strater download per VCD update. This refers to both the sediment and hardrock data.

Good to know for future expeditions:
Plan ahead with the Staff Scientist to confirm due dates to the YEOP for the site reports. On this expedition I was a little to easy on this because we had such a long transit to Australia, but if not I would be swamped. It was my mistake, but when I originally discussed this with Joerg he showed me the final due dates, but they were only for the scientists to turn in the final report to him, NOT TO ME. So they never had a confirmation that the reports were due to me approx. two days after they have received the final review from Joerg. Sometimes I would receive a report 2 weeks after they got the final review from Joerg. In my future expeditions I will be more firm at the beginning of the expedition.
On this expedition the scientists seemed to be a little more interested in the Strater program, although it was not to produce the VCD's it was for creating there own figures for their site reports. Zenon introduced this program to the scientists and then we helped them create layouts mostly for their site summary figures. I would recommend introducing them to the program in the beginning of the expedition, similar to presentation that Zenon gave at the beginning of 324.
I would recommend having all scientist and technical staff fill out the immigration forms one week prior to arrival at final destination. This gives the Radio Operator an efficient amount of time to review/organize all documents before immigration arrives. Also I confirmed with Bruce Swartz, and agent from the Waldron Norton Lilly International, that all scientists and techs should mark "yes" for question #10 on the immigration form: The primary purpose of this trip is business? Yes or No.

IMAGING LAB

John Beck
Summary
Expedition 324 has been a standard hard rock cruise for imaging in the respect that core images are relatively low due to the number of core but the number of close up image requests were higher than on a sediment cruise. Other imaging duties consisted of checking all images produced from the image logger, PR photography, and shooting video for the Educator at Sea.

Equipment Performance
On first arriving aboard I attempted to calibrate my monitors but the EIZO calibration application would not work. This apparently occurred due to the fact that at the end of 321 Ted Backer from Lamont updated our OS to the latest version. I got on line and downloaded the latest update from EIZO and had the MCS install it. This corrected the problem and all monitors were calibrated. The manual for this new application was printed and placed in a binder in the lab.
366 core sections were imaged on the image logger. There was only one small problem that occurred during the cruise with this track. We had a power outage that shut down all of the computers. On coming back on line the image logger had lost all of its calibration. We reloaded the stored calibration files and the problem was corrected. The track worked fine the remainder of the cruise.
Realizing that there would be and increased demand for close ups it was decided to move the close up shooting area to both improve that task as well as core flow. Core storage of both working and archive halves was moved to what had been the close up area and the close up area was moved to where archive core storage had been. The overhead area in the new close up area is lower than its previous location so I had the ship's machinist shorten the close up column to fit the allotted space. The column was attached to the table rather than to the unistrut bracket that it had been mounted to. This saved space sticking out from the wall. The table elevation change function was disabled and the table was attached to the bulkhead with unistrut. New light mounting brackets were fabricated. This new set up worked quite well. While shooting close ups I noticed that periodically one strobe head would not fire or would fire at a lower intensity. I replaced the power pack with our back up and gave the offending unit to the ETs. They could find no problem with the unit and in the meantime the second unit, which had been working, started to exhibit the same problem. It was infrequent enough that I continued to use it until I was done with close ups. At this point in time we are still trying to determine what the cause of this problem is. I have recommended that a 100mm macro lens be purchased to help facilitate the shooting of close ups.




Special Projects

Three videos have been shot for Nasseer Idrisi, the Educator at Sea, to post on the web. One will be shot of Will Sager discussing the cruise results.

Type and Number of Measurements
305 Close Ups.
Approximately 1400 PR ship related images have been shot so far.
4 Videos shot

UNDERWAY GEOPHYSICS LAB

Erik Moortgat
Data Summary Expedition 324 consisted of six transits (5305 nm) and five sites. Only one hole ('A') was drilled at each of the sites. Transits: 1. Yokohama, Japan to SRNH-2 (L1T) : 1115 nm (the distance does not take into
account the back tracking performed to facilitate a satellite engineer to board and fix our satellite issues)
2. SRNH-2 to SRSH-3B (L2T) : 370 nm (the distance does not take into account
the heading adjustments (changes in distance) made to skirt a typhoon).
3. SRSH-3B to SRSH-6 (L3T) : 114 nm
4. SRSH-6 to SRCH-5 (L4T) : 111 nm
5. SRCH-5 to SRCH-4 (L5T) : 40 nm
6. SRCH-4 to Townsville, Australia (L6T) : 3555 nm (the distance does not take
into account the divergence to conduct a magnetic survey of the Helios Basin).
Sites:U1346A to U1350AFive site fixes & PDR depths observedData points were gathered every thirty seconds when on-site and every sixty seconds when underway.
For the first time in awhile, the IODP technical staff conducted underway watches. This was due to the deployment of a magnetometer during our transits. Aside from a few cases of the staff playing w/ WinFrog's display settings, all worked out well. Equipment Performance Summary WinFrogWinFrog1 was used entirely for primary navigation acquisition. One crash was observed.
Upon arriving at our first site, it was observed that the Trimble's offset was missing from the device's position configuration. This was easily observed because the ship's bow, instead of the moonpool, was directly over the site. How this value went missing from Winfrog's configuration is unknown.
We are still having problems with the initial startup of the WinFrog PC while the DP GYRO is plugged into COM6. The mouse exhibits erratic behavior and the Windows start button utility opens and closes randomly. A couple of reboots are usually required and then w/ WinFrog running, plugging in the GYRO to COM6 usually works. The I/O device has to be added to the vehicle but that is simple enough.
GyroNMEA GYRO #3 from DP was the gyro used for the duration of the Expedition.
Trimble/Ashtech GPSThe Trimble GPS was the primary GPS used for the duration of the Expedition. No problems were encountered. The Ashtech GPS unit was available as a backup. Bathy 2010
We are still having the problems, discovered on Exp 323, of the recorded .SEG files either crashing the Bathy software outright or the files playing back gibberish. The files can however be re-constructed from the .ODC file. Kristin Hillis did not receive any support from SyQwest during Exp323 and I have not, as of this writing, received any either. An example screenshot of a "corrupted" file during playback is below. SyQwest's support as of late has been less than stellar.

There is still the occasional occurrence of the Bathy PC not booting properly and the hardware must be hard re-booted.
EPC recordersThe EPC recorders were not used for prime data collection but were used for testing purposes (see Special Projects section).
I was able to print to one of the EPCs from the Bathy PC using EPC's Image Utility but am still unsuccessful printing from Bathy2010. If our recent support problems w/ SyQwest are any indication, I don't expect help from them on this matter either.
MiscRequisition made for Exp318 and seismic acquisition:

• 1 each : 4-port USB to DB-9 serial adapter
• 2 each : 2-port USB to DB-9 serial adapter
• 3 each : 2 ft NULL-MODEM cables (female-female)
• 5 each : 4 ft NULL-MODEL cables (female-female)

(for the last two items, the lengths are approximate...the longer the better).
Special Projects:
Magnetometer
WHOI's EG&G Geometrics proton magnetometer was brought onboard for the Expedition to acquire magnetic field intensity data between waypoints.

The winch was installed on the
stern's starboard side
w/ the power/data cable run overhead into the UW Lab via the opening beside the porthole.
A DB9 cable was run from the connector box to COM1 of WinFrog using a null-modem interface.



The Geometrics device was added to WinFrog as a Magnetometer Geometrics 88x device w/ the following RS232 settings (1200/8/1/no parity).
Give the unit five minutes to warm up before beginning the tuning sequence:
Readings of past cookbooks mentioned that the maggie must be tuned so the signal level received is "approximately" 200. No indication of a +/- filter but common sense was used to keep it near 200.

To tune the device, the Geometrics I/O port was selected, right-clicked and configure device selected. In the tuning window, a manual tune value was entered; the Output Auto Tune (TA)… radio button was checked to send the value. This was done as many times as necessary to get the signal close to 200.










To get the data into a user-friendly format, quite a bit of massaging must be done. The "maggie" data is not recorded to the event file (.dat) but to the raw files.
1) Parsing the maggie data requires that you read from each raw file and parse the TYPE
800 format lines out. Only three fields of this format are required:
field 3 – time (PC time in seconds)
field 4 – magnetic field (nT)
field 5 – signal strength
2) Parsing the GPS data requires that you read from each raw file and parse the TYPE 303
format lines out. Only three fields of this format are required:
field 3 – time (PC time in seconds)
field 5 – latitude
field 6 – longitude
3) Executing xgrep from the command line, using the following syntax, will create two files.
xgrep "^800-001" *.RAW > maggie.csv
xgrep "^303-003" *.RAW > nav.csv
4) maggie.csv will contain the lines from the raw data file w/ the TYPE 800 format. Remove
all columns but the ones w/ the three fields specified above. Nav.csv will contain the lines from the raw data file w/ the TYPE 303 format. Remove all columns but the ones w/ the three fields specified above. Create a new worksheet in the maggie.csv file and copy the three columns from the nav.csv file. Assuming the three columns in the new worksheet are time, lat and long and the three columns in the maggie worksheet are time, magnetic field and signal strength. In a blank column in the maggie worksheet, in the first cell, execute the following function:
VLOOKUP(A1,Sheet2!A:C,2)
where:
A1 which column to match in the two sheets (i.e. time)
Sheet2 name of the sheet containing the position information
A:C search from column A to column C in both sheets
2 transfer the content of column 2 (i.e. latitude)
This function will match times in the raw dat files of a magnetometer reading w/ a ship
position.
5) Now the PC times have to be converted to a time that actually makes human sense.
These times are called epoch time and they have to be converted to real time using the
following equation:
real time = (epoch time / 86400) + 25569
The cells can now be formatted into a proper date format (i.e. 10/09/2009 13:00)
I will try to write up a more formal procedure (scripts/macros) in between Exps 324 & 318, for future use.
Seismic prep for Wilkes Land In preparations for our seismic survey(s) during our next Expedition (Wilkes Land) I have been studying the procedures, especially how to record the survey in a hardcopy format. Unfortunately Triton Imaging's SB Logger does not facilitate directly printing the streamer signal during acquisition to our EPC 9802s. I have been in contact w/ them but they do not have a solution so we are going to have to come up w/ an alternate plan. We will hopefully be able to print the streamer's analog signal on the EPC and annotate via the old LabVIEW UW Watch program (w/ a few ongoing edits) on WinFrog2. The streamer signal is split post-amp, going to both the PC and the Krohn-Lite filter (for the EPC). The GPS and GYRO NMEA OUTPUT data streams will go from WinFrog1 to WinFrog2 and annotation for the EPC will be handled with the LabVIEW program. WinFrog1 will also send the GPS and GYRO NMEA OUTPUT data streams to the seismic PC so SB Logger can incorporate this data. This is why the requisition was made for the extra serial port connections. Triton's SB Logger will handle the triggering and streamer signal filtering.
We have conducted tests using a signal generator for printing on the EPC and are still attempting (as of this writing) printing files from SB Logger to the plotter in the UserRoom. There is always the possibility of bring the plotter to the UW Lab for the survey and printing post-process to it.

FANTAIL

Gus
Summary

• Bathymetry, navigation and magnetometer data was collected on all transits. The magnetometer system was on loan from W.H.O.I. for this cruise. The seismic guns were not used.
  
  Special projects
• Temporary installation and removal of magnetometer winch, cabling and associated lab electronics.
• Set up and preliminary testing of air operated piston pump for possible use as an antifreeze pump in high latitudes.
• Test gun deployment procedures.
• Interface and test flatbed recorders.
  
  Problems encountered
• None
  
  Miscellaneous
• Appropriate bathymetric reference charts as well as dividers, 10 points and Gerber scale will be needed for the Wilkes land
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  DEVELOPERS REPORT

  
  On deck:Extended port call:Shore:
  Dwight HornbacherStephanie ZeliadtJames Zhao
  David FacklerAlgie MorganChris Bennight
  

  Summary

  First hard rock expedition fully exercises laboratory and data collections systems. No satellite connectivity in Yokahama.
  

  Special Projects

  Barcode scanner support revised: WRMSL, NGR, GANTRY, SRM, SHMSL.
  SRM Discrete & Section Half further development, testing
  Logger login behavior updated: WRMSL, NGR, GANTRY, SRM, SHIL, SHMSL
  C# Loader revisions (in test)
  JavaBalance revisions (in test)
  Pycnometer revisions (in development)
  Magnetometer data collection
  Thin Section Report (deployed)
  Lims2Excel bug fixes (deployed)
  NGR data reduction (no change)
  

  Database

  
  Change Log

• 2009 Sep 4 Expedition 324 Shatsky Rise begins. User accounts created. Expedition reset for OPS_NAVBAT table. Expedition reset to 324 for LIMS. Conducted EOX procedures: backed up 323 data one more time, cleaned 323 content.
• 2009 Sep 7 Pulled descinfo templates from shore via hotel internet access. Merge into production.
• 2009 Sep 8 Database cleaned of 323 content for both LIMS and OPS.
• 2009 Sep 9 Previous ASMAN content cleaned out. Assist curator with load of 198 samples into database as part of Exp 324 collection: U1213B.
• 2009 Sep 13 Copy request info from shore to populate SampleMaster for curatorial request code associations. Clean up ASMAN references for files that have been deleted.
• 2009 Sep 18 Finished 324-U1213B MSPOINT and RSC data cleanups.
• 2009 Sep 23 Setup Barnes with LIMS edit privileges. Demonstrate cancellation of tests from duplicate XRD file loads.
• 2009 Sep 24 End-of-expedition data handling documentation revised. Submitted to Graber for formal filing.
• 2009 Oct 2-4 Shiptest services moved to server-room housed rack-unit. Oracle, JIRA, WikiJR (aka shipwiki), MySQL, Apache, php, and Tomcat services and binaries all migrated and switched on.
• 2009 Oct 4 Took break in coring to conduct database housekeeping. Moved LIMS indexes to "labwareidx" tablespace. Turned on parallel access option. Conducted housekeeping on tables to the extent possible without disabling client access: moved schema-owned tables to their namesake tablespaces. Tables containing LONGs and CLOBs were not moved—they must be copied, or exported and fully re-imported—not happening during production operations.
• 2009 Oct 8-9 Completed re-creation of SHIPTEST Oracle database using 323 content. MySQL database also now configured and fully operational on the new platform. Shift the SHIPTEST IP address from the developer desktop machine to the server room unit.
• 2009 Oct 9 Ship home 324-U1346A data for testing the thin section report.
• 2009 Oct 11 Revise LOI analysis, components, and definitions in LIMS. JavaBalance development far enough along, ready for testing. And the database is there to test against.
• 2009 Oct 12 LOI. 324-U1346A results loaded using spreadsheet loader. Completed recoding of tests to carry the secondary qualifying parameter that DescLogik didn't load.
• 2009 Oct 13 Preparations for 317 Canterbury. Load new containers. Send home updated analyses and components.
• 2009 Oct 14 Send home summary info from re-reduced NGR data for 320/321 sample party reference. Attempt to shutdown database cleanly for restart with auditing capability turned on. Aborted.
• 2009 Oct 14 Overlooked LIMS public grants on SHIPTEST. Added. Identified during JavaBalance develop/test cycle.
• 2009 Oct 15 Send DESCINFO content to shore test server for 317 Canterbury DescLogik planning, configuration, and testing.
• 2009 Oct 16 Enter laboratory accounts for 317 Canterbury. Clean out users and accounts from 323.
• 2009 Oct 17 Oracle production. "Shutdown abort" and "restart" during science meeting. Audit capability now on. Turned on insert and update auditing of sample entries.
• 2009 Oct 19 Another round of bulk nomenclature changes. 324-U1348A-14R thru 26R ("volcanic sandstone" > "coarse tuff", "volcanic mudstone" > "fine hyaloclastite", "volcanic lapillistone" > "granular hyaloclastite"). Offered same service as for previous round of nomenclature changes. Operators chose to conduct the summary modifications using DescLogik, the singular entries were modified using SQLDeveloper.
• 2009 Oct 20 Send home 324-U1347A thin sections to shore test server for additional input to Thin Section Report testing.
• 2009 Oct 23 Drop expedition 323 Oracle accounts and LabWare accounts from LIMS.
• 2009 Oct 25 SHIPTEST server tools updates. GNU core utils from MSYS / MinGW. Install Archiva maven repository manager.

Issues

• 2009 Sep 9 For the MAD, Coulometer, and CHNS processes, samples begun, but never completed gradually clutter the various sample and test lookup dialogs for these processes. Canceled the offending samples and test to clean up the displays for production processing.
• 2009 Sep 10 Send sequence reset scripts to shore. Production database retained partitioning settings from the expedition 320 full reload.
• 2009 Sep 10 DescLogik 324 Thin Section template did not transfer with shore copy. Not there. Mateo recreated.
• 2009 Sep 13 Ran out of space on SHIPTEST server while restoring data from 323 for curatorial reference and review. Resolved later by moving content to server with more disk.
• 2009 Sep 13 Now people know what CSF-A and B are, but don't know which is SUMOBSERVE and SUMADVANCE. Can be changed in the database, but not without also changing the corresponding SampleMaster logic check and web-service logic checks.
• 2009 Sep 22 Physical properties scientists would really prefer a solid method of marking data as outliers and recording them in such a way in the database that the outliers can be filtered out via web-tabular. For GRA, MS, MSPOINT datasets on U1346A the specific points indicated were also rejected in the database. For subsequent holes, data tracks were pulled from LIMS and filtered in Excel, then maintained and shared outside the database.
• 2009 Sep 23 Cleanup duplicate XRD uploads. On file move failures, the application tries three times to upload a file generating multiple LIMS records. Resolved by standardizing on a single data upload directory (c:\data\xrd\in) and its companion upload completion directory (c:\data\xrd\archive).
• 2009 Sep 23 Data load for 323 failing at HQ. Traced to bad copy of the Oracle export file. Bzip'd and submitted a clean copy from shipboard archives.
• 2009 Sep 28 ThermCon uploads showing up at the wrong depths. Revised measurement cataloging process: identify measurement offset against section half rather than against the piece in-hand. This method is procedurally simpler. Canceled all previous TCON uploads to this point, participants reviewed and reset the offset values, then re-loaded the content.
• 2009 Oct 1 Web-tabular queries slow on shore, specifically that used by "getSciData". Explore re-writes of the SQL and their tuning effects. Ended by adding and deploying new index: "create index result_sno_tno0011 on result (sample_number, test_number) tablespace labwareidx parallel". Deployed on all production and test platforms. Average change in query time quantifiable by analyzing web-service response times from extended access logs. "Before" and "after" values should show approximate order of magnitude reductions seen in the query tuning process.
• 2009 Oct 2 Exploration of DescLogik data retrieval failure (lithology_name applied without modifiers not supported) led to attempts to restore and rollback specific data records. Very good techniques to know, though not a solution for this case.
• 2009 Oct 4 Of course, breaking the "sample_master" user and role index causes SampleMaster logins to fail and makes the curator unhappy. Resolution: rebuild moved index.
• 2009 Oct 5 Study the occasional nulling or zeroing of sample curated and created lengths. Removed occurrences of older "resteasy-depth-services.war" from production servers. Kept the newer "depth-services.war" referenced in the current SampleMaster code base. Possible automation failure, but not separable from equally plausible operator process errors. Wait for break in coring and data entry to turn on auditing of sample updates and inserts.
• 2009 Oct 19 Rebuilt ASMAN for the SHIPTEST web-service stack. Now properly honors the content of the asman.properties file. Not targeted for production use at this time. Experiment with maven build profiles and build timestamping.

Core Lab

Change Log

• 2009 Sep 5 Revised image logger so ImageMagick script fires in the required order. Revised the image logger to put the "correction" parameter in the right place in the output file.
• 2009 Sep 6 Revised logger login to check network availability so it doesn't just hang when network services are not responding properly.
• 2009 Sep 8 Deployed revised login screen for loggers that allows bypass of login when network is up, but web-services are down.
• 2009 Sep 10 Survey discarded images for quantity and types of failures.
• 2009 Sep 12 NGR remove dead Microscan. Revise SampleEntry to accommodate DS6708 handheld scanner which acts as "HID keyboard" device. Remove unused NI serial, IMAQ, DAQmx drivers, remove microscan software and USB-serial shims. Create standard labels for thermcon MACOR standards. Installed a DS6708 handheld barcode scanner at ThermCon.
• 2009 Sep 14 WRMSL: Remove Microscan barcode reader references. Uninstall IMAQ software and drivers. Update Subversion client. STMSL: Put away spare power supplies. Installed 2nd laser to make this track equivalent to WRMSL for laser caliper testing. STMSL not used for expedition operations.
• 2009 Sep 15 Fudge set-down factors on SHMSL reflectance sphere. Was sitting too high. Hard rock cores are narrower, therefore the split faces sit shallow compared to full sediment splits.
• 2009 Sep 18 Gantry. Installed handheld DS6708 barcode scanner. Revised the SampleEntry screen per the same work done on the NGR control interface.
• 2009 Oct 1 C# Loader work-in-progress. Revising for robustness of behavior in edge cases of network outage and web-service outage.
• 2009 Oct 1 Pycnometer work-in-progress. Enable barcode reader support. Retire dependency on Lims.dll: use direct web-service calls.
• 2009 Oct 27 C# Loader alpha. Iron out deployment dependencies. Run it through a test cycle against SHIPTEST with 324 files and data.

Issues

• 2009 Sep 10 Image logger failed to start for training session. Gave participants full training on how to page for assistance. ImageMagick processing changes tested under the development account showed up broken when opened under the DAQ account. Change re-made and resaved. Lights still fail to turn on upon first power-up and first attempt to enable the line-lights. Microscan not replaced yet with a MS4407 scanner.
• 2009 Sep 10 Suggestions for higher density standard for GRA control standard from participants: packed basalt sand; or coarse ground basalt within a matrix of cement made from barium drillers' mud.

• 2009 Sep 10 Yay. Internet is back. [Tweaks made while inoperable in Yokohama, were reset].

• 2009 Sep 11 TAMU Masif basalts generally high susceptibilities. The meter readout "wraps around" when counts are greater than 9999. This only occurs when the 0.1 sensitivity (10 second integration time) setting is selected. WRMSL MS and SHMSL MSPOINT MS2C meters were reset so measurements would be taken on the 1.0 sensitivity (1 second integration time) setting. Communicated to other technicians and participants.
• 2009 Sep 15 Surface variability extreme on hard-rock. Complete contact of integrating sphere with surface not consistent. Run anyway. Felt skirt ameliorates external lighting interference for non-touchdown cases, but makes it difficult to routinely visually verify touchdown of sphere.
• 2009 Sep 15 Ships power down at approx 1500 hrs for 15-30 minutes. SHIL lost its camera settings, required reload from locally stored camera settings file. NGR ran the UPS dry and powered off. Restarted.
• 2009 Sep 16 C# Loader issue, noted at NGR, applicable to all other logger stations: when comment fields contain carriage returns, MegaUploadaTron cannot properly parse the file. Worked around by editing out the offending carriage return.
• 2009 Sep 16 Changed SRM internal move logic to support sequences like: measure demag measure measure measure. Use-case: time-series to capture sample "re-magnetizing". Revised motion control program for absolute moves. On-going set of changes to SRM during first weeks. New deployments and testing everyday.
• 2009 Sep 16 WRMSL: Hard-rock sections are curated frequently with empty liner beyond the end of the section material. To run properly on the pusher tracks, the full liner length must be submitted. For ease of book keeping, best practice is to record the actual section length in the comments field. The "overscan" into the empty liner shows up in downstream plotting processes as data overlap within a core. Except for hole U1346A, these outlier overlaps have been left in the database. Participants filtered the overlaps out via Excel.
• 2009 Sep 17 PMAG samples noted to regain original signature after strong demagnetization fields applied. SRM sequencing not quite right yet to allow time series observation of returning field.
• 2009 Sep 21 Reiterate cataloging procedure for MAD samples. Test list was not getting entered at sampling time, nor was the container assignment. Hard rock processing does not actually use containers, but the whole process is wired to the concept. Worked around by creating a "null" container with zero mass and zero volume. This container cannot be numbered zero. The number zero is reserved by the Pycnometer software for QAQC runs.
• 2009 Sep 22 SRM. Fixed motion control for second background. Galil syntax issue.
• 2009 Sep 27 ThermCon. A run which contains a failed temperature determination is marked by dashes. The C# Loader does not properly parse the dashes, causing invalid numbers to be generated for the average of the heat flow series. Worked around by editing out the failed run in the one offending file.
• 2009 Oct 5 DescLogik users reviewing their data get into discussions regarding nomenclature with respect to interpretation. Upshot is a need for specific wording changes to a large number of entries. Used SQLDeveloper to pull the offending entries for review. Walked the users through the edits ("Mn oxide" variations to "green clay").
• 2009 Oct 9 WRMSL. Sections are run through the system with the split liner taped back to the bottom half to prevent bits and pieces from falling out as the assemblage moves along. Every once in awhile, the height of the upper liner half will is sufficient to fall above the laser's detectable position window. Upshot: track keeps moving the section forward without finding the end of it. Resolution: Abort the program. Take off the upper liner. Re-run. Physical adjustment of laser position saved for some future maintenance/test cycle.
• 2009 Oct 11-12 DescLogik. Study issue of "multiply-qualified" columns failing to upload with all qualifiers. Fixed the data per template specifications, but have not fixed the DescLogik code.
• 2009 Oct 15 WRMSL, applicable to all loggers containing database lookup code relying on current Lims.dll implementation. Web-services were downed due to cascade effects from misbehaving AFP service and procedural choices. The sample entry screens of a number of the loggers contain code to lookup lengths and other information from the database. While the web-services are down, this particular lookup code "hangs"—waiting forever for a web-service response. Outcome: recommend adding curated and created lengths to the sample labels; recommend not using Lims.dll with sample entry data lookups (use web-services directly and with accommodation for timeout).
• 2009 Oct 22 MicroImage loader: all ASMAN file results carry a double underscore in the name. Not so much an issue as an inconsistency of usage. Cleaned up in DB.

Focsle Deck

Change Log

• 2009 Sep 6 XRD loader tested, committed, deployed.
• 2009 Sep 22 Review XRD loader with X-Ray. Obtain overview of LOI process.

Issues

• 2009 Sep 18 Restore label print functionality to chemistry Zebra. The DNS entry for this printer was changed slightly during DNS table updates. The chosen name (chem-zebra2) no longer corresponds with the entry (chemlab-zebra2) that is recognized by SampleMaster. Enabled original IP-Name by specifying an appropriate mapping in the local Windows Hosts file.
• 2009 Sep 19 Coulometer processing. Workflow through balance being applied again that causes old, stored weight value to get uploaded inappropriately. Recorded masses manually in spreadsheet, same for coulometry values.
• 2009 Oct 1 JavaBalance analyzed to identify the source of the workflow ordering issues many operators have encountered in Chemistry.
• 2009 Oct 2 Assignment of alphanumeric containers for CHNS objectives resulted in downstream upload failures. Tests were canceled and re-run with numeric-only container identifiers. Handled procedurally rather than with code change.
• 2009 Oct 15 Cahn Balance in chemistry is measuring consistently 3% too high. Somebody pressed the button. To be re-calibrated in port.

Other

Change Log

• 2009 Sep 9 Reconfigured navigation/bathymetry stream to pickup from the operational WINFROG IP address.
• 2009 Sep 10 Work with underway to capture magnetometer data to WINFROG master local files. Provide scripts and tools to pull the data into Excel.
• 2009 Sep 14 Turned on "ExtendedAccessLogValve" for all OES based Tomcat web-services. Provides independent quantitative statistics on data request speeds and volumes.
• 2009 Sep 17 Iron out curation process usage of SampleMaster tools for hard-rock: (1) created lengths for sections enter on or ASAP after catwalk sectioning; (2) curated lengths determined soon after; (3) enter curated lengths, recalculate offsets, recompute depths. Must be done consistently—otherwise depth inconsistencies show up in later description and sampling.
• 2009 Sep 10 Package ImageGrabber utility for JNLP deployment. Curator had a few cases where browsing the images was more convenient than unboxing core. This makes the tool available for both PC and Mac users.
• 2009 Sep 21 DescLogic build 3.20.4.6 for deployment: update analysis enumeration list so MSPOINT can be plotted; pops up dialog for mis-defined dynamic columns.
• 2009 Sep 26 Redeploy DescLogic build 3.20.4.6. Re-built using Oracle data access components 10.2.0 rather than 11.1.0. The latter is not distributed on most stations in the labs.
• 2009 Oct 1 Developer standard operations procedures circulated.
• 2009 Oct 15 Paw through the pile in JIRA. Brainstorms todo's for "hiatus".
• 2009 Oct 16 Updated science applications index page so technical staff can access more readily the tools intended for their use.
• 2009 Oct 26 Snapshot all LabVIEW code from systems. As preparation for the usual frenzy of changes that occur leading up to and going through port call. Includes snapshots of Galil Motion control scripts and configs and Measurement and Automation Explorer settings.
• 2009 Oct 28 Testing of revisions to JavaBalance. First round outside of development.

Issues

• 2009 Sep 8 Restored function of networked LabWare client—most of it dependent SLL files had been renamed. Restored from backups. FileFixer utility should not be run against the LabWare share. Would also be safer to run it as a less privileged user than administrator.
• 2009 Sep 9 IT & Ops now have the RigWatch master running on server Krakatoa. Must log into the terminal with the /admin switch to ensure Firedaemon is executing the LIMS server and navigation/bathymetry feeder properly. Otherwise, the next time operations logs in, those processes get disconnected.
• 2009 Sep 19 Curator notes that web-tabular top and bottom offset columns are deriving their values based on "x_curr_len" rather than "x_length". Top and bottom depth columns are fine once recuration and recomputation of depths settles.
• 2009 Sep 22 Curating piece lengths to the nearest centimeter makes the barrelsheet piece column look out of alignment with the actual section image. Resolved procedurally: enter piece lengths to the nearest millimeter.
• 2009 Oct 3 Exploration of DescLogik data retrieval failure: lithology_name applied without modifiers leads to exception which prematurely aborts workspace retrieval. Fixed in code. Led to deployment of version 3.20.4.8.
• 2009 Oct 4 Verify that the Veeder Root feed for video overlay is actually physically hooked up. Communications port not responding to query commands. Added to the stack.
• 2009 Oct 8-9 New version of Lims2Excel not working: intended to fix file download issues. Back out release. Earlier release dropping records. Further testing and analysis indicates out-of-memory type errors. Reconfigured application packaging to launch L2E with more memory.
• 2009 Oct 18 Deploy first release of ThinSectionReport per Zhao, Mateo. Several rounds to go.
• 2009 Oct 26 C# Loader revision testing against SHIPTEST. Segues into a round of requirements discussions. Now also recorded on the Wiki. See New Pages. http://shiptest.ship.iodp.tamu.edu/w .