Expedition 340T Atlantis Massif is a logging operation, not a coring operation. In a logging operation, there is already a hole and we go back to the hole and use tools to log the hole.

One of the tools we will be using on this expedition is the MTT or Modular Temperature Tool. This tool will be used to take temperatures as it goes down the hole to see if the temperatures that we observe today are the same as they were when the hole was drilled in Expedition 304 and 305 seven years ago. Earlier temperature readings were higher than one would expect in normal crustal rock which is what one would expect if the rock had been uplifted from depth.  Current temperatures will be compared with temperatures from 304 and 305 to see how much those temperatures were affected by the drilling operation.

 

The DSI or Dipole Sonic Imager probe is filled with transducers and transceivers. The transducers send out sound waves and the transceivers measure how long it takes for the wave to come back. This tells scientists something about the properties of the rock surrounding the hole.