ABSTRACT
The five primary sites proposed for International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 395, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were cored during IODP Expedition 395C. The Expedition 395C operations, shipboard measurements, and sampling were adjusted to account for the absence of a sailing science party. The Expedition 395/395C objectives are (1) to investigate temporal variations in ocean crust generation at the Reykjanes Ridge and test hypotheses for the influence of Iceland mantle plume fluctuations on these processes, (2) to analyze sedimentation rates at the Björn and Gardar contourite drifts, as proxies for Cenozoic variations of North Atlantic deepwater circulation, and for uplift and subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge gateway related to plume activity, and (3) to analyze the alteration of oceanic crust and its interaction with seawater and sediments. During Expedition 395C, basalt cores were collected at four sites: U1554, U1555, U1562, and U1563. Sediment cores were also collected from these sites as well as from Site U1564, and casing was installed to 602 m at Site U1554. The amount of recovered cores, their preliminary descriptions, and the analyses of shipboard samples show that the results of Expedition 395C will fulfill a significant part of the Expedition 395 objectives. Basalts were collected from two V-shaped ridge and trough pairs, which will allow the investigation of the variability in mantle source and temperature causing this ridge/trough pattern. Basalt cores span an expected age range of 2.8–13.9 Ma, which will allow us to investigate the hydrothermal weathering processes. Sediments from the Björn drift were cored to basement, along with the uppermost 600 m of sediments from the Gardar drift. The data provided by Expedition 395C are a major advancement in achieving the work of Expedition 395. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Emerging evidence supports the intuitive link between chronic health conditions associated with air pollution and the vulnerability of individuals and communities to COVID-19. Poor air quality already imposes a highly significant public health burden in Northwest India, with pollution levels spiking to hazardous levels in November and early December when rice crop residues are burned. The urgency of curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigating a potential resurgence later in the year provides even more justification for accelerating efforts to dramatically reduce open agricultural burning in India.