Staff from the European Petrophysics Consortium based at the
University of Leicester have been working as part of a team on the IODP Expedition357: Atlantis Massif Serpentinization and Life. As the latest
phase, the Onshore Science Party (OSP) reaches its conclusion; it’s time to
look back at the OSP experience at the Bremen Core Repository at the MARUM in
Germany.
IODP Expedition 357 is a major research project that is investigating the link between alteration processes (serpentinization) and extreme life. It has attracted much media attention, including items on the BBC and Bremen radio, not least because of its links to the origins of life and by
extension the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life.
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| The Bremen Core Repository containing over 150 km of core! |
EPC’s involvement in this project centres on providing
petrophysical expertise as part of the ECORD (European Consortium for Ocean
Research Drilling) Science Operator in conjunction with the BGS and MARUM. The
offshore phase of this mission-specific platform (MSP) expedition took place in
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between October and December 2015. Dr Sally
Morgan, Petrophysics Staff Scientist on the expedition, analysed the ephemeral
physical properties on the core whilst offshore as well as coordinating the
downhole measurements programme. The core recovered from beneath the Atlantic
seabed was then shipped to the Bremen Core Repository arriving there just
before Christmas. This is where the rest
of the team came in, lead by Sally, and together forming the physical
properties technical team working alongside four international scientists with
interests in physical properties.
All of the scientists involved in Expedition 357, the
Science Party, assemble for the first time at the OSP, only a few scientists
were involved in the offshore phase. The science party includes 30 scientists
from 12 countries and they are involved in sampling, measuring rock properties,
and working on rock description and characterization. A set of standard
measurements are acquired on every IODP expedition to ensure a consistent data contribution
to the legacy databases. Broadly speaking these measurements span the
disciplines and facilitate characterization of the rocks recovered, including
physical properties and high-resolution digital imaging of the cores (the
responsibility of Leicester's EPC team). During the OSP reports are written
on the expedition data (find them at the bottom of the page linked here), and scientists discuss their personal research
projects potentially forging collaborations.
So the Onshore Science Party is serious business, but is it
also a party? Well yes and no. These teams worked around the clock (almost
literally!) to develop a comprehensive record of the recovered rock in only 17
days! Yet, for many, the OSP is their first contact time with the recovered rocks,
generating an almost tangible atmosphere of excitement and anticipation as each
core is split and the story revealed. It is a fantastically encouraging
environment for budding and early-career scientists: full of potential connections that may lead to future collaborations and opportunities. One such example of this interdisciplinary collaboration developed in the physical properties lab. One of the four science party members was microbiologist Dr MattSchrenk. Matt’s research focuses on microbial life in extreme environments, and
he had requested to be part of the OSP physical properties team so that he
could learn about the moisture and density measurements acquired to investigate
porosity. Matt is interested in understanding
how porosity might control the location of life within these rocks. The hope is
that one day this research arising from Expedition 357 might aid in the search
for extra-terrestrial life. A perhaps unexpected, and undeniably interesting connection.
The Expedition 357 OSP has been hard work for everyone
involved so far and as the scientists and ESO staff begin to depart to their
various corners of the globe, the lingering buzz of anticipation reminds
everyone that the OSP is only really the start of the science.
