An interdisciplinary approach to sampling hard rock cores of the oceanic crust for microbiological and biogeochemical research

Authors

• William J. Brazelton, School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
• Oscar Cavazos, International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
• Jordyn A. Robare, School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA
• Gordon Southam, School of the Environment and Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
• Johanna Suhonen, International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
• Fengping Wang, School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai
• Susan Q. Lang, Dept. of Geol. and Geophys., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
• Andrew McCaig, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
• Peter Blum, International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
• Natsue Abe, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokahama, Japan
• Remi Coltat, ISTO, UMR 7327, Univ. Orleans, CNRS, BRGM, OSUC, 45071 Orléans, France
• Jeremy R. Deans, School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
• Kristin L. Dickerson, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
• Marguerite Godard, Geosciences Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
• Barbara E. John, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
• Frieder Klein, Dept. of Geol. and Geophys., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
• Rebecca Kuehn, Institute of Geosciences and Geography, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
• Kuan-Yu Lin, Electron Microscopy Core Facility, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
• C. Johan Lissenberg, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
• Haiyang Liu, Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
• Ethan L. Lopes, Dept. of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
• Toshio Nozaka, Dept. Earth Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
• Andrew J. Parsons, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Vamdev Pathak, Dept. Geology, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India
• Mark K. Reagan, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
• C. Geoffrey Wheat, Global Undersea Research Unit, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Moss Landing, CA, USA

ORCID

• Andrew J. Parsons: 0000-0001-7538-9418

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Studying life in the deep, rocky subseafloor involves many layers of technological and methodological challenges, and each drilling project or expedition must make a series of choices to address these challenges. We report on the workflow for sampling hard rock cores for microbiological and biogeochemical research that was developed and optimized during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 399. All steps of the workflow, including selection of the sample and its shipboard homogenization and subsampling for specific analyses, were designed to maximize the potential for interdisciplinary collaborations and syntheses of results. Furthermore, multiple strategies to minimize and detect potential microbial and organic chemical contamination of the core samples were employed, including the shipboard detection of a fluorescent chemical tracer pumped into the drill fluid. Contamination tracer levels were detectable on the exterior surfaces of the core but absent in the homogenized interiors of most core samples. Based on the experiences and preliminary results of this expedition, recommendations for processing samples on future expeditions are presented.

DOI Link

10.5194/sd-35-159-2026

Publication Date

2026-08-11

Publication Title

Scientific Drilling

Volume

35

Issue

2

ISSN

1816-8957

Acceptance Date

2026-07-20

Deposit Date

2026-09-16

Funding

This work was supported by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Funding for the operation and management of the JOIDES Resolution was provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF award OCE1326927). Funding to join Expedition 399 was provided by NSF award OCE1450528 for the US Science Support Program Office (USSSP-IODP subcontract 220 (GG009393-04)), the UK Natural Environment Research Council (grants NE/X019098/1, NE/Y001737/1, NE/Y002350/1, and NE/Z000424/1), a Juan de la Cierve fellowship (FJC2021-047190-I) funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), IODP France, ANR Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers-CNRS (grant ANR-22-EXOR-0001 Origins), National Natural Science Foundation of China, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant KAKENHI 23K03528 and 20H02005), Australia New Zealand International Consortium (ANZIC) IODP, IODP-China Office, Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 92251303), IODP Germany, J-DESC (Japan Drilling Earth Science Consortium), and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

Additional Links

https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=plymouth_pure&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:001846013200001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First Page

159

Last Page

169

Recommended Citation

Brazelton, W., Cavazos, O., Robare, J., Southam, G., Suhonen, J., Wang, F., Lang, S., McCaig, A., Blum, P., Abe, N., Coltat, R., Deans, J., Dickerson, K., Godard, M., John, B., Klein, F., Kuehn, R., Lin, K., Lissenberg, C., Liu, H., Lopes, E., Nozaka, T., Parsons, A., Pathak, V., Reagan, M., & Wheat, C. (2026) 'An interdisciplinary approach to sampling hard rock cores of the oceanic crust for microbiological and biogeochemical research', Scientific Drilling, 35(2), pp. 159-169. Available at: 10.5194/sd-35-159-2026