The last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific: offshore drilling in Tahiti (French Polynesia)

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 to the reef terraces around Tahiti, French Polynesia, was the second expedition to utilize a mission-specific platform and was conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) Science Operator (ESO). The objectives of Expedition 310 are to establish the course of last deglacial sea level rise at Tahiti, to define sea-surface temperature variations for the region over the period 20,000–10,000 cal. y BP, and to analyze the impact of sea level changes on reef growth and geometry. To meet these objectives, the last deglacial reef sequence, which consists of successive reef terraces seaward of the living barrier reef, was cored from a dynamically positioned vessel during October and November 2005. A total of 37 boreholes at 22 sites were cored in water depths ranging from 41.65 to 117.54 m. Borehole logging operations in ten boreholes at seven sites provided continuous geophysical information about the drilled strata. Cores were described during the Onshore Science Party at the IODP Bremen Core Repository during February and March 2006, where minimum and some standard measurements were made. Further postcruise research on samples taken during the Onshore Science Party is expected to fulfill the objectives of the expedition.