ICDPInternational Continental Scientific Drilling Program

Today, we completed the third and final borehole near Winterstettenstadt (Tannwald Site) at a total...

Today, we completed the third and final borehole near Winterstettenstadt (Tannwald Site) at a total depth of 166 meters after drilling 10 meters into the host rock of the Tannwald basin, which consists of marl and fine sandstone of the Tertiary molasse sequence.

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This week the borehole at the Basadingen-Schlattingen 5068-2 site was refilled and closed. We...

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On monday we have finally reached the bedrock (Tertiary molasse deposits) of the basin at a depth...

On monday we have finally reached the bedrock (Tertiary molasse deposits) of the basin at a depth of 155.35 meters. We will now continue drilling for another 10 meters to ensure that we did not hit an allochtonous (i.e. transported) slab of molasse.

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We have arrived at a sequence of diamicts at a depth of 143 meters that likely represents the...

We have arrived at a sequence of diamicts at a depth of 143 meters that likely represents the bottom of the overdeepened basin. The sediments are compact and therefore we have little losses.

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We are still drilling through the basinal fine-grained clastics and the image nicely demonstrates...

We are still drilling through the basinal fine-grained clastics and the image nicely demonstrates how compact the sediments are. The bottom of one core had to be cut off and it perfectly fits to the top of the next core (140-141 m).

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This week we completed the downhole logging at the Basadingen-Schlattingen 5068-2 site. The...

This week we completed the downhole logging at the Basadingen-Schlattingen 5068-2 site. The borehole proved to be very stable so the open-hole measurements could be completed as planned. Many thanks to the LIAG Logging Crew!

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Daylight hours are getting shorter, but drilling continues in to night! Photo taken at 7pm.

Daylight hours are getting shorter, but drilling continues in to night! Photo taken at 7pm.

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Bennet Schuster taking the 30th bio-sample from bore core from 100m. Today we took 9.5 m of core, a...

Bennet Schuster taking the 30th bio-sample from bore core from 100m. Today we took 9.5 m of core, a daily record.

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We have now decided to switch to a rotary core barrel system, since the fine sediments we currently...

We have now decided to switch to a rotary core barrel system, since the fine sediments we currently encounter are too stiff to hammer through. In turn a rotating crown as shown in the image can nicely cut through these sediments.

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We are still drilling through sand at a depth of 80 m and there is yet no sign of the expected fine...

We are still drilling through sand at a depth of 80 m and there is yet no sign of the expected fine basin sediments. Sometimes because of the sand the liner gets stuck in the casing and up to 3 people are needed to pull it out

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With 253 m we have reached the final depth in Basadingen-Schlattingen (ICDP site 5068-2)! We are...

With 253 m we have reached the final depth in Basadingen-Schlattingen (ICDP site 5068-2)! We are very happy with the outstanding core quality and recovery; this is an excellent basis for the upcoming science part! The equipment is now prepared for the borehole logging by LIAG in the upcoming days.

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While we encounter a few meters of well sorted sand from a depth of 74 m on the local farmers are...

While we encounter a few meters of well sorted sand from a depth of 74 m on the local farmers are harvesting corn on the nearby fields. We have reached a final depth of 77 m this week.

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We have now reached the lake sediments at a depth of 65 m. The clay is perfect for taking noble-gas...

We have now reached the lake sediments at a depth of 65 m. The clay is perfect for taking noble-gas pore water samples, which we store in special sample containers. A total of 12 samples will be analyzed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in Zürich after the drilling is completed.

Image: Container for taking noble-gas pore water samples

Thanks to our colleagues from Bern the core boxes have finally arrived. Also drilling is...

Thanks to our colleagues from Bern the core boxes have finally arrived. Also drilling is progressing very well in silty (more and more clayey) sediments and we have reached a depth of 64 m this week.

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Finally, after 5 weeks of forced inactivity due to technical and other challenges, drilling...

Finally, after 5 weeks of forced inactivity due to technical and other challenges, drilling operation continues. We have not reached a depth of 242 m drilling through sands and waiting for the bedrock to occur.

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In these soft silty sediments we sometimes recover a core longer than the actually drilled...

In these soft silty sediments we sometimes recover a core longer than the actually drilled distance. It is very difficult to identify the additional, most likely disturbed material. Hence, we eventually had to split parts of the core to have a more detailed look. The image shows sections through disturbed so-called re-core material on the left and original sediment on the right hand side.

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Despite the fine sands, we are still encountering problems with larger clasts. When they fall down...

Despite the fine sands, we are still encountering problems with larger clasts. When they fall down from the shallower gravel layers, they sometimes get stuck between the core and the outer casing. In some cases, the crew has to pull the whole casing out and remove the clasts by hand.

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As we continue drilling we find sediments to be finer than expected, which allows for good progress...

As we continue drilling we find sediments to be finer than expected, which allows for good progress as these fine sands are easy to hammer through. We have reached a final depth of 46 m today.

Image: The bottom of the core shown in the image is from 44.0 m depth

Good sampling for noble-gases in pore water is possible from these silty parts of the Scholterhaus...

Good sampling for noble-gases in pore water is possible from these silty parts of the Scholterhaus subformation sands.

Image: This image shows the core at a depth of 40.36 m.

We have finally reached the sands of the Scholterhaus subformation (Rissian age, part of the...

We have finally reached the sands of the Scholterhaus subformation (Rissian age, part of the Dietmanns formation). Even though they are softer and therefore easier to drill we sometimes need heavy machinery to pull the core due to the instability of the sands. Nevetheless, we have recovered a total of 6.6 meter today.

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