March 23 - March 30, 2001 vol. 38 no. 12

Calendar

Friday, March 23

SPECIAL TG - The sun is OUT! Come one, come all to a fun-filled, sun-filled TG sponsored by the Director's Office. Same time, same place! Come hang out with our Director, our super staff, our outstanding scientists, and our cool students! Let's party!
(Alla Reisner, areisner@ucsd.edu)

Notices

FIRST MULLIN ENDOWMENT GOAL REACHED - Thanks to the generosity of those who knew and admired Mike Mullin, the Mullin Memorial Fellowship Endowment has met the $50,000 minimum requirement, and the Endowment has been officially established. Contributions to the fund are still welcome, however. Please contact the SIO Development Office at (858) 822-1865 if you would like to honor Mike by supporting student fellowships. (Edwina Riblet, x47793)

SPECIAL CONCERT IN MEMORY OF MIKE MULLIN - On Wednesday, April 4, at 8 p.m., the San Diego Early Music Society will dedicate a concert by the British vocal group "The Sixteen" to Mike Mullin who was treasurer of the Society for 15 years. Mike loved vocal choral music and he was delighted that the "The Sixteen" was coming to San Diego. The concert will be held at St. James by-the-Sea Church, 743 Prospect Street, La Jolla.
For ticket information, call (619) 291-8246.

YIKES! RON'S LEAVING?!?!?! Come to Ron McConnaughey's retirement party, Friday, April 6, at 4 p.m. on the SIO Pier. Anyone wishing to pitch in for a gift, see Rose Yamasaki in 4430 Hubbs Hall & sign the card. (Jill Ives, x43948)

CHARLES IS SLIGHTLY BETTER - I am completely blown away at the generous donations you all have made to help Charles Graham's family and I will continue to collect until pay day. Charles is doing a little better. He still in in ICU and still fighting pneumonia. Also, if you wish to donate vacation hours via the Catastrophic Leave Program, contact Sharon Williams, shwilliams@ucsd.edu. Every little bit helps! Please make out your check to Mrs. Lori Graham and send them to me at Mail Code 0210. Thanks a MILLION! (Jill Ives, x43948)

Ship News

Science Report Week of March 11-18, Cook Leg 7, R/V Melville - Mapping of the southern Mariana Arc system with HMR - 1 swathmapping and imaging towfish has been successfully completed. We also mapped and imaged the the Diamante cross-chain and cross-chains west of Guguan Island at 17d20'N, our most northerly point on this leg. Return to the south along the Mariana Trough backarc basin spreading axis has allowed us to image the spreading axis from 17d20'N to 13d30'N, the axial rift of which varies in depth from 3000 to 5000m and is characterized by an intermittent neovolcanic zone. This completes the imaging portion of the Bloomer/Stern portion of Leg 7. HMR-1 has performed flawlessly and all credit belongs to the HMR-1 imaging team, led by Dr. Margo Edwards of the University of Hawaii. The seas have been calm and the week has passed without major problems, due to the tireless and good-natured efforts of Captain Curl, Res Tech Bob Wilson, and crew of the Melville. We now begin 5 days of imaging the Mariana forearc east of Guam, Dr. Patty Fryer PI. Dr. Fryer is also participating in ODP Leg 195, now drilling a serpentine mud volcano east of Guam. We originally planned to transfer Dr.Fryer from the JOIDES Resolution to the Melville on March 17 but unforseen drilling difficulties require her to stay aboard the drillship. Mr. Nathan Becker, a graduate student studying under the supervision of Dr. Fryer, has taken over her duties as chief scientist from now until we dock in Guam on March 23 to offload the HMR-1, exchange scientists and Res Techs, and begin dredging the volcanoes imaged with HMR-1.

Science Report Week of March 18-23, Cook Leg 7, R/V Melville - HAWAII-MR1 mapping continued with a survey of the Mariana forearc between the longitudes 144d20'E to 146d20'E, and north from the trench from about 12d00'N to 14d20'N. Features imaged include North Chamorro Seamount serpentine mud volcano, numerous faults cutting the forearc, and the trench axis itself along with sections of the downgoing Pacific plate. One forearc fault in particular can be followed from between Guam and Santa Rosa Bank southward all the way to the trench axis. Near the intersection of this fault and the trench axis is the deepest point of this survey and the preliminary MR-1 bathymetry data give a depth for this point of 10689 m. As this depth is based on 1500 m/s sound velocity in seawater, it could well be even deeper and therefore rival the greatest of ocean depths. The HMR-1 towfish was recovered at 8:00 am local time on 3/22 and we have since been conducting a SeaBeam survey and will continue to do so until we return to port in Guam the morning of 3/23. I would also like to second Dr. Robert Stern's appreciation of the officers and crew of the R/V Melville and the HMRG team for an outstanding job in conducting Dr. Fryer's survey, and a special thanks to Dr. Stern and his science party for their assitance and support. --N. Becker

R/V ROGER REVELLE

R/V MELVILLE

R/V NEW HORIZON

R/V ROBERT GORDON SPROUL