The trigger-weight and camera cores (short gravity cores 
1 1/4'* in diameter) having been split and sampled are stored in the plas- 
tic liners in which they were raised from the ocean bottom, 
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATICNS 
A general description of each core is made shortly after split- 
ting, while it remains moist. This is in the form cf a core log on which 
lithological charges are noted. 
A preliminary microscopic investigation is made of all the 
washed coarse-fraction sediment samples obtained in the way already 
described. The samples are examined for foraminifera and other or- 
ganic remains, Where possible climatic changes are inferred from the 
vertical sequence of foraminiferal assemblages, and these changes are 
plotted on the core log. An estimate of the relative abundance of mineral 
particles to organic remains is made as well as a rough description of 
the mineral species present. Further study of any particular core de- 
pends upon the information yielded by these preliminary examinations. 
The main purpose of the preliminary investigations is to obtain 
a maximum of information with a minimum delay. The results are 
rapidly given to the expedition leaders so that various points which seem 
to be promising can be further explored by more intensive coring in 
certain areas. 
The value of this method is well illustrated in case of the rela- 
tionships of submarine topography and sediment type. Preliminary in- 
