[NJCP] NJCP - New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project

ICDP-Topics:
Climate & Ecosystems


Year of Application: 2006

Expedition ID: 5030

Current Status: drilled

Master Data

Prof. Dr. Stefan Buske (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Michael Riedel (Scientific Participant)

Projektstart:
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Geologisches Alter:

Latitude: 39°38'2''N
Kontinente:

North America

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Longitude: 73°37'20''W
Länder:

United States

Themen:

Drilling Data

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Core Length-Drill Depth-Ratio:
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Description

The NJ Coastal Plain and continental shelf/slope comprise a "natural laboratory" for unraveling eustasy and margin sedimentation by exploiting the chance to drill a series of linked boreholes as part of the ‘NJ/Mid-Atlantic Transect’ (NJ/MAT). Consequently, this margin has been the focus of previous drilling both onshore and offshore (ODP Legs 150X, 174AX, 150 and 174A, respectively). Each of these efforts has successfully dated sequence boundaries and tied them to the d18O proxy of glacioeustasy, but all have fallen short of the ultimate objectives for either of two reasons: 1) the region most sensitive to sea-level change, the inner shelf, has not been sampled; and 2) drilling technology aboard the ODP drilling platform, JOIDES Resolution, is not well suited for recovering sandprone continental shelf sediments. Consequently, a critical gap remains in the NJ/MAT and our knowledge of global sea-level change. The drilling we propose is designed to obtain deep sub-seafloor samples and downhole logging measurements in this crucial inner shelf region using a mission-specific platform. MAT 1-3 represent the most sensitive and accessible locations for bringing the New Jersey Transect to a successful conclusion. In 1999, ICDP committed a $500,000 contribution towards drilling this transect; we are now poised to conduct the transect as a joint IODP-ICDP effort, though ICDP has asked the PI’s to submit a revised proposal considering the time since the previous commitment. The role of ICDP is critical in this joint endeavor. The cost of drilling and logging all 3 sites is in the range of $6 M to $8 M, and as such, the ICDP’s contribution is pivotal. Equally important, collaboration of ICDP and IODP will demonstrate that fundamental scientific interests are shared by these leading organizations and will make great strides towards a more unified approach in using drilling to answer basic questions about Earth processes.

Related Publications

Riedel, M., Reiche, S., Aßhoff, K., Buske, S. (2018). "Seismic depth imaging of sequence boundaries beneath the New Jersey shelf" Marine Geophysical Research p1-16