Core Replicas

Seven replicas of ODP and IODP drilled cores are available for classroom activities and display at temporary exhibitions and conferences in Europe and Canada. You can read more information on how to use core replicas on a poster presented at EGU 2018/EOS18: “Core replicas help discover the Earth under the sea” by P. Maruéjol, C. Cotterill, U. Prange and J.L. Bérenguer.

A short description of each core replica is given below and further detailed informations about the expedition and scientific results are available by clicking on each expedition webpage. You can also click on each photo to see a close-up of the replica.

Arctic Coring – IODP Expedition 302 (ACEX)

Mid Eocene Arctic sediments – Microlaminations of dark organic-rich Azolla alternating with microfossils (e.g. diatoms) in a mid-Eocene (~50Ma) sediment suggest fresh-water episodes in Arctic surface waters. ACEX is the first scientific drilling expedition to the central Arctic Ocean, 250km from the North Pole.
Drillship: I/B Vidar Viking >> expedition webpage
Read more about the replica »

Tahiti Sea-Level – IODP Expedition 310

Coral reefs off Tahiti – Replica of a core drilled in Pleistocene fossil coral reefs off the coast of Tahiti. Coral boundstone with microbialites: this core section is one of the critical samples from IODP Exp. 310. It provides an invaluable record of a dramatic sea-level rise (Meltwater Pulse 1A; MWP-1A) related to a major collapse of polar ice sheets, which occurred between 14,650 and 14,310 years ago.
Read more about the replica »
Drillship: DP Hunter >> expedition webpage
Flyer: Tahiti Sea-level core replica » (English, PDF)

Walvis Ridge – ODP Leg 208

Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum – Deep-sea sediments from the Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic between 2.7 and 4.8km water depth, are marked by a clay layer related to a warming event ~ 55 Ma ago, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).
Drillship: JOIDES Resolution >> expedition webpage

Blake Nose Paleoceanographic Transect – ODP Leg 171B

Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction boundary – The core contains evidence (tektites) of a huge meteorite impact at 66Ma ago, the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary in sediments from beneath the Atlantic’s seafloor, 1,920km from the Chicxulub crater at a water depth of 2,658m.
Drillship: JOIDES Resolution >> expedition webpage

Chicxulub Impact Sequence: Exp 364 Chicxulub K-Pg Impact Crater

Chicxulub impact crater: Postimpact Resurge, Settling, Seiches, and Tsunami (Core 364-M0077A-040R-001) – The core contains evidence of a huge meteorite impact at 66Ma ago, and subsequent return of the bentic life to the post impact crater: suevite, transitional unit and pelagic carbonate. Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary the in rocks from the peak ring of the Chicxulub crater in the Gulf of Mexico, 20 km NW Progreso.
Flyer for Chicxulub core replica »

Drillship: L/B Myrtle >> expedition webpage

Superfast Spreading Crust 3 – IODP Expedition 312

Upper/lower oceanic crust – The core shows a composite in-situ section of the upper oceanic crust (basalts and dikes) in contact with the lower crust (gabbros) at 1,407m below seafloor.
Drillship: JOIDES Resolution >> expedition webpage

Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project – IODP Expedition 343 (J-FAST)

Plate boundary fault (Tohoku-Oki earthquake) – Red to dark brown clays show a scaly fabric and are part of the plate boundary fault, 200km E of the Miyagy prefecture, 820m below the seafloor and at a water depth of 7,000m.
Drillship: Chikyu >> expedition webpage

Additional information and loan

Educators at La Fabrica Centro Ciencia Viva in Aveiro, Portugal, present ODP and IODP core replicas in the classroom.

• Dimensions of the core replicas: 110cm length x 7cm wide;
• A loan of agreement must be signed between EMA (on behalf of IODP) and the loaner before the replica is sent;
• Informative posters are available as:
  • A3 posters (in English) of ACEX – Tahiti – PETM – K-Pg – Chicxulub – Oceanic Crust – J-FAST
  • A3 posters (in French) of Tahiti –  PETM – K-Pg – J-FAST

Contact for loans: info@ecord.org