POSEIDON POS362/2

From 9 to 25 February 2008, a team of scientists from the West Nile Delta project conducted research in the Eastern Mediterranean on board of R/V POSEIDON. As the previous cruise in December had had to be stopped for technical reasons, examinations were resumed on two mud volcanoes offshore the Egyptian coast. Sediment samples and temperature data were collected in order to gain new knowledge concerning the activity of the two mud volcanoes. The following activities were carried out:

1. Heat flow probing

A 6-m tethered heat flow probe (see here for details) was deployed for measurements of temperature and heat conductivity in the upper sediments. This data helped to identify areas of enhanced seep and flow activity.

2. Gravity coring

A gravity corer (see here for details) was used to retrieve sediment cores of up to 6 m in length. Geochemical, sedimentological and micropalaeontological examinations of these samples were to provide information on eruption frequencies and on the source depth of the erupted mud.

3. Multicoring

A multicorer (see here for details) was used to retrieve undisturbed sediment cores of up to 50 cm in length. Especially in areas of high seepage, this type of samples is an important complement to the gravity cores as the latter rarely provide an intact sediment surface.