Grain size composition of loess samples from LGM European loess sequences. Loess samples of about 200 g were prepared to extract the grain size fractions studied. Grain size separations were performed on at least 10 g of dry sample. First, the entire sample was sieved with demineralized water on 63 microns and 20 microns sieves. The rejects were collected, dried and weighed. The clay fraction was obtained by decanting the fraction below 20 microns. The rest of the sample was mixed and left to settle for 1 hour. This procedure is repeated until a transparent supernatant is obtained. The two fractions thus obtained are dried and weighed. The size of the different fractions was then checked by laser granulometry.
During the JC-10 cruise (2007), we sampled the Darwin mud volcano (MV) for meiofaunal community and trophic structure in relation of pore-water geochemistry along a 10 m transect from a seep site on the rim of the crater towards the MV slope. Sediment samples were retrieved by the ROV Isis using push cores. On board and after the pore water extraction, the top 10 cm of the cores were sliced into 1 cm sections and fixed them in 4% formaldehyde for meiofaunal community analysis. In the home laboratory, the formaldehyde-fixed samples were washed over a 32 µm mesh sieve and extracted the meiofauna from the sediment by Ludox centrifugation (Heip et al. 1985). Meiofauna was then sorted, enumerated and identified at coarse taxonomic level. From each slice, ca. 100 nematodes were identified to genus level. Afterwards, abundance of Nematoda were depth integrated over the top 5 cm to gain individual abundances per 10 cm**2. Overall, total nematode biomass in the top 5 cm of the seep sediment core was ~10x higher than that in the core taken 1100 m away. Nematode genus composition varied little among cores and was mainly dominated by Sabatieria.
Species of Globorotalia are among the most dissolution-resistant planktonic foraminifers in sediments of the inner wall of the Middle America Trench; parts of their Phylogenetic history have been recognized in sediments of Leg 107 (Glacon and Bourgois, 1985). These species can be integrated into the biostratigraphic scheme on the basis of calcareous and siliceous nannoplankton and calibrated on the basis of paleomagnetism (Keller, 1980, 1981; Keller et al., 1982; Barron and Keller, 1982). Data compiled for this data report extend to the southern area of occurrence of Globorotalia species.
About 250 sediment samples were collected on board JOIDES Resolution and examined as follows: 20-cm**3 samples were dried for 8 hr at 60°C, weighed, and then washed through sieves of 0.5, 0.2, 0.125, and 0.063 mm mesh size. The residues were dried and reweighed. The abundance of planktonic foraminifers counted is reported as numbers of specimens per weight of the original sample.