Throwing away a fresh unanalyzed sample is inconceivable to most scientists. That is, unless you can trade up for a better one! One of the problems with finding the source of the plume at the very end of dive is that we had already used our entire arsenal of sampling capabilities. After a quick huddle in the control van which included biogeochemists, biologists, and geologists, the decision was made to discard one of the push core samples collected at a seep site earlier in the dive in order to take advantage of this unique opportunity and get at least one sample from ‘mud river.’ This video shows the single push core collection of the fluidized sediment racing through the channel. Preliminary analysis of the core indicates that the sediment in the flow was suspended in dense brine many times the salinity of normal seawater. Video courtesy of Ian MacDonald, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, NOAA-OE.
Related Links
Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007
