92 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean, and the Mediterranean are most suitable. These sedi- 
ments, in fact, contain fossil species of Foraminifera which have been studied 
in detail in the neighboring epicontinental deposits. 
WORK ACCOMPLISHED 
Preliminary to the major LOCO efforts of the future, a limited operation was 
earried out from November 27 to December 17, 1963, using the drilling vessel 
Submarex of Global Marine Exploration Co. (Los Angeles). This vessel is a 
converted PC with a length of 173 feet 8 inches, a beam of 23 feet, and a dis- 
placement of 298 tons. The vessel is equipped with a skid-mounted Howard 
Turner drilling rig and a 42-foot mast. Standard 2% inch drill tubing in 20- 
foot lengths is employed. The maximum drilling depth is about 2,500 feet. 
The restricted drilling range of the vessel (2,500 feet) posed a severe limita- 
tion to a program of pelagic drilling and coring, because pelagic sediments 
generally occur at depths greater than 7,500 feet. A critical analysis of the 
submarine topography and geology of a region including the continental margin 
between Cape Hatteras and the Florida Straits, the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, 
and the Caribbean led us to focus our attention on two small areas of the western 
Caribbean, between Jamaica and Nicaragua, as possible locations where pelagic 
sediments might occur at depths less than 2,000 feet. These are the northern 
slope of Rosalind Bank, and the area between Pedro Bank and the island of 
Jamaica. Preliminary to the drilling operation, these areas were investigated 
using the recently acquired Rayflex electrosonic profiler on board our R/V 
Gerda. Short gravity cores were also obtained. The results indicated favor- 
able bottom topography and possibly also favorable sediments, 
The Submarex was equipped in Miami with the necessary drilling equipment 
and left. dock on November 27 bound for the Rosalind Bank site (location A: 
17°15’N, 80°35’ W, 650 feet of water) where the R/V Gerda was waiting to direct 
the drilling vessels to an exactly chosen place and to assist in the anchoring 
operations. 
After three unsuccessful attempts due to the limited capability of the vessel 
and the gear together with the unfavorable weather, the Submarex was moved to 
a fourth location (D) between Walton Bank and the island of Jamaica (17°40’N, 
77°58'W, 2,000 feet of water). The drill string penetrated to 185 feet below the 
sea floor and a total of 68 feet of cores were recovered. Indurated sediments were 
encountered at 180 feet. The piston core failed to work, but a standard corer 
built on board was successful. The topmost 18 feet could not be cored, probably 
because too soft. We plan to reoccupy location D with the R/V Pillsbury at 
the beginning of February (1964) and sample the top 50 feet using standard 
piston coring techniques. The Suwbmarex returned to Kingston on December 17 
for demobilization. 
A preliminary analysis of the sediments recovered has been made. From 
near the surface to 180 feet the sediment appears to be a sort of “Globigerina 
ooze” light gray in color because of finely disseminated MnOs. It differs from 
normal Globigerina ooze mainly because bethoniec foraminifera are more 
abundant, representing an estimated 5 percent of the total foraminiferal popula- 
tion. The benthonic foraminifera are of bathyal type and no material re- 
deposited from shallow water has been noticed. 
Among the pelagic Forminifera, Globigerinoides sacculifera and Globiger- 
inoides rubra predominate throughout. Right-coiled specimens of Globorotalia 
multicamerata are abundant at 152 feet below the ocean floor, rare at 138 feet, 
and absent above. Left-coiled specimens of Globorotalia truncatulinoides and 
right-coiled specimens of Globorotalia menardii oceur at 152, 138, and 94 feet 
(together with predominant specimens oppositely coiled) but are absent at 85 
feet and above. Globigerina eggeri, Globigerina inflata, Orbulina wniversa, and 
Pulleniatina obliquiloculata occur throughout, often in abundance. Globiger- 
inoides sacculifera fistulosa is absent. 
The above micropaleontological observations, and others, indicate that the 
section present at location D represents a portion of the Pliocene-Pleistocene 
time. Globorotalia multicamerata has been described as restricted to the 
Miocene in the Caribbean, but this may result more from the scarcity of Pliocene 
outcrops of suitable facies rather than from a true chronological restriction. 
The indurated sediments encountered at 180 feet consist of shells of pre- 
dominantly benthonic Foraminifera and shell fragments of benthoniec mollusks 
loosely cemented together by a caleareous matrix. The fossils are poorly pre- 
served and it has not yet been possible to establish their age. Preliminary 
