Leg 196 was characterized by the first utilization of Advanced CORKs and the ISONIC logging-while-drilling (LWD) tool. These, plus the usage of measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and standard LWD technology, required significant additional funding over and above the costs of a normal ODP leg. We thank all the ODP partners who contributed commingled funds, the U.S. National Science Foundation, JOIDES, JOI, the Geological Survey of Canada, JAMSTEC, and the Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo for providing these additional resources. The excellent seamanship of Master Peter Mowat and the ship’s crew of the JOIDES Resolution was instrumental in facilitating the challenging installation of the Advanced CORKs. Willing cooperation from Transocean Sedco Forex Drilling Superintendent Scott Pederson, the rig floor personnel, and the ODP technical staff allowed assembly and emplacement of the Advanced CORKs. We acknowledge Tom Nawate and Vivian Pistre for facilitating LWD and MWD operations and data processing. We appreciate the consistent assistance of the ODP Publications personnel in the completion of this volume.

No Core, A-CORK!
by Earl E. Davis

Who in the world let us get away
With a cruise without a core?
And a scientific party
With names on so few doors?

With a trip when all the eager techs
Would be without their tasks?
A trip when screens and packers
Replaced pipe out in the racks?

But those few souls who really care
About water in Earth’s crannies and nooks,
We are grateful for this really big chance
To watch hydro-tectonics at work.

Our thinking began at a time long ago,
At the dawning of plate tectonics.
If faults were as weak as they seemingly were,
They required the help of hydraulics.

Much has been written in physics equations,
With some chemical reactions thrown in,
But ground-truth is needed to stop speculation;
Hard data is really quite thin.

So we came with our colleagues from over the sea
To drill in the most awful places,
Where earthquakes are plenty and holes must go deep
Into unstable subseafloor spaces.

But with an able drill crew and Pettigrew’s tricks
We assembled CORKs more fantastic
Than ever before when we had to get core
And couldn't take time for A-antics.

The deepest we tried to stuff into the fault
Bounding continent and ocean.
Some thought we were trying to use the drill string
As a spike that would stop seismic motion.

But our goals were less grand, we just wanted to know
Why Earth’s faults are so very slick.
So we’ve left all our gauges behind in the ground
To see if pore pressure’s the trick.

We’ll be back in a year, then let you all know
How things worked, and if we had luck
Learning secrets about Nankai’s infamous fault.
For now, let’s all hope it’s well stuck.