Large continuous samples from differing regional settings are required to meet research goals. 

 Funding is needed for acquisition and operation of an instrumented piston corer system and 

 handling equipment capable of taking 50-meter-iong, 10-centimeter-diameter cores from a 

 number of research vessels. A Long Coring Facility (LCF) will provide sufficient penetration 

 capability to resolve major sedimentary, diagenetic, and geochemical processes. It will 

 complement the deep penetration capabilities of the Ocean Drilling Program and extend standard 

 piston coring techniques by a factor of three. 



Preliminary engineering design of a prototype system is complete. The LCF corer will find 

 immediate use for paleoclimatic studies along continental margins, in sediment transport and 

 microtopography studies, and in determination of geochemical gradients in ocean sedimentary 

 basins. In FY 1989 and FY 1990 $.9M will be required for construction and testing. Operation 

 costs are estimated at $.6M annually during the period FY 1991-96. 



3. Geochemical Instrumentation. During the past decade marine geosciences research has 

 evolved from reconnaissance studies to quantitative studies examining various aspects of 

 paleoceanographic and plate tectonic models. This transition has highlighted the need for modern 

 analytic instrumentation. An example of research opportunities that require improved 

 analytical systems is polymetallic sulfide mineralization on oceanic ridge systems. The complex 

 series of geologic, geochemical, and physical reactions involving high temperature 

 seawater-rock, mineral fluids-rock, mineral fluids-cold seawater, and secondary 

 mineralization and magmatic processes are a formidable challenge. 



In the past, interpretations have all too often been frustrated by lack of a comprehensive 

 approach, and critical data have been missing because adequate instrumentation was not 

 available. New state-of-the-art, automated instruments with on-line computers and real-time 

 data correction, reduction, and archiving capabilities, as well as a new generation of 

 instruments with multielement or isotope detection capabilities, are needed. These include 

 electron microprobes, ion probes, x-ray diffraction and fluorescence units, gas and solid source 

 mass spectrometers, acceleration mass spectrometers, emission and absorption spectrometers, 

 microprobes, and transmission and scanning electron microscopes. 



No oceanographic institution has the instrumentation, facilities, or necessary expertise to 

 undertake all the techniques identified. It will be necessary to expand present analytical 

 facilities and develop regional and national capabilities to provide for the comprehensive studies 

 needed. Funding is required for a six-year program totalling $4.2M to upgrade (and utilize) 

 instrumentation capabilities at oceanographic institutions. Additional funding for acceleration 

 mass spectrometry is also needed, but it is budgeted as part of the facilities needed for the new 

 initiatives. It is described in the Chemical Oceanography section of this document. 



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