Daily Report for IODP Expedition 311, September 30, 2005

LOCATION: Site U1329 (CAS-05D)

SCIENCE UPDATE: After relatively slow drilling (~5 m/hr) in the lower ~35 m, we decided to take a single XCB core (Core U1329D-1X) at the bottom of Hole U1329D, which was completed to a total depth of 210.5 mbsf at 10:15 hr. Core U1329D-1X recovered only 1 m of “biscuited” sediment. Analyses of the interstitial water from Core U1329D-1X yielded a salinity of 22, which is about 30% fresher than the interstitial waters in the overlying sediments. This may indicate the flux of fluid from a deeper source. Changes in gas chemistry, with notable increases in ethane and propane in the void gases, with depth in Hole U1329C also suggests the influence of a different fluid regime.  After reaching total depth in Hole U1329D, we switched over to the wireline logging program. The first tool deployed was the standard triple-combo, which was able to reach a depth of 209 mbsf and the hole was logged without incident. The second logging run consisted of two passes of the FMS-sonic tool. On the first lowering the FMS-sonic tool reached a depth of 209 mbsf, but on the second lowering the FMS-sonic tool only reached a depth of 171 mbsf. The caliper log showed that parts of the hole were severely enlarged.