Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Sonne	SO266	15.10.2018 - 18.11.2018	SO266 - TAIDRILL	South China Sea

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Bohrmann Gerhard	Universitat Bremen, Zentrum fur Marine Umweltwissenschaften	Kaohsiung Kang	Kaohsiung Kang

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

SO266-1:MeBo200 methane hydrate drillings southwest of Taiwan – Project "TaiDrill". The gas hydrate system off southwest Taiwan offers the unique opportunity to study the influence of tectonic settings on gas hydrate dynamics. The gas hydrate system extends on both sides of the deformation front that separates the passive continental margin of the South China Sea from the active margin of the Manila Trench while maintaining its lithostratigraphy. Throughout the past 19 years numerous geophysical, geochemical, and sedimentological studies have been conducted in this area to make use of this unique tectonic setting. During cruise SO266 we plan to drill four MeBo sites to quantitatively constrain the geological processes that lead to gas hydrate formation and dissociation. This will also help in determining the gas hydrate resource potential of this continental margin. The main scientific aim of the proposed project is to test the hypothesis if fluid migration through thrust faults in the active continental margin lead to much higher gas hydrate concentrations than those that can be found in passive margin settings. Secondly, we will constrain the impact of different lithologies on gas hydrate variations in the passive margin setting. After the cruise, various sedimentological, stratigraphic and geochemical analyses of the MeBo- and gravity cores will be perfomed. Those data will form, together with the MSCL- and borehole logging data, basic parameters for models about gas hydrate formation and distribution in deep sea deposits. Geophysical data of SO227 cruise (3D seismic, EM and T-measurements) will be reinterpreted based on the new drilling results.

Messungen / Measurements