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doi:10.2204/iodp.sp.339.2011

Sampling and data sharing strategy

Shipboard and shore-based researchers should refer to the IODP Sample, Data, and Obligations Policy (www.iodp.org/program-policies/). This document outlines the policy for distributing IODP samples and data. It also defines the obligations incurred by sample and data recipients. All requests for data and core samples must be approved by the Sample Allocation Committee (SAC). The SAC is composed of the Co-Chief Scientists, Staff Scientist, and IODP Curator on shore and curatorial representatives in place of the Curator onboard the ship. For proposed Site SHACK-04A, the APL main proponent will act as an additional SAC member.

Every member of the science party is obligated to carry out scientific research for the expedition and publish it. For this purpose, shipboard scientists are expected to submit sample requests (at smcs.iodp.org/) detailing their science plan 3 months before the beginning of the expedition. Based on sample requests (shore based and shipboard) submitted by this deadline and input from the scientific party, the SAC will prepare a tentative sampling plan that will be revised on the ship as dictated by recovery and cruise objectives. The sampling plan will be subject to modification depending upon the actual material recovered and collaborations that may evolve between scientists during the expedition. This planning process is necessary to coordinate the research to be conducted and to ensure that the scientific objectives are achieved. Modifications to the sampling plan and access to samples and data during the expedition and the 1 y postexpedition moratorium period require the approval of the SAC.

All sample frequencies and sizes must be justified on a scientific basis and will depend on core recovery, the full spectrum of other requests, and the expedition objectives. Some redundancy of measurement is unavoidable, but minimizing the duplication of measurements among the shipboard party and identified shore-based collaborators will be a factor in evaluating sample requests. Success will require collaboration, integration of complementary data sets, and consistent methods of analysis. Substantial collaboration and cooperation are highly encouraged.

Shipboard sampling will be restricted to acquiring ephemeral data types and to low-resolution sampling (e.g., biostratigraphic sampling and toothpick-sized samples for bulk carbonate isotopes), mainly so that we can rapidly produce age model data critical to the overall objectives of the expedition and for planning for higher resolution sampling postcruise. Sampling for the bulk of individual scientist's personal research will be postponed until a shore-based sampling party to be implemented ~4 months after the expedition at the Bremen Core Repository (BCR) in Bremen, Germany. The BCR houses cores collected from the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans (north of the Bering Strait).

There may be considerable demand for samples from a limited amount of cored material for some critical intervals. Critical intervals may require special handling, a higher sampling density, reduced sample size, or continuous core sampling for a set of particular high-priority research objectives. The SAC may require an additional formal sampling plan before critical intervals are sampled and a special sampling plan will be developed to maximize scientific return and scientific participation and to preserve some material for future studies. The SAC can decide at any stage during the expedition or during the 1 y moratorium period which recovered intervals should be considered as critical.

For proposed Site SHACK-04, a highly coordinated sampling effort will be undertaken by shipboard and shore-based scientists to produce a multiproxy data set on samples from the same stratigraphic horizons, similar to that achieved by the ice core community. Ice core samples from the same depth are typically divided among multiple investigators, and results are often replicated among laboratories. We will adopt a similar sampling strategy for proposed Site SHACK-04 that emphasizes a genuine multiproxy approach with acute attention to resolution, replication, and time control. This monumental task is well beyond the capabilities of any individual or laboratory group. The sampling strategy will consist of a highly coordinated effort by shipboard and shore-based participants to produce the widest range of proxy measurements possible on the same set of samples. Close coordination among shipboard and nonshipboard participants will be established early in the planning process in order to develop a sampling scheme that meets the needs of all investigators. Because of the exceptionally high demand for samples anticipated at proposed Site SHACK-04, sample sharing will be encouraged where appropriate to maximize the use of the core material.

All collected data and samples will be protected by a 1 y postcruise moratorium, during which time data and samples are available only to the Expedition 339 Science Party and approved shore-based participants. This moratorium will extend 1 y following the completion of the sampling party.

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