We present the first marine pollen record of the early Pliocene from western equatorial South America. Our reconstruction of the vegetation aims to provide insights into hydrological changes related to tectonic events (Central American Seaway closure, uplift of the Northern Andes). We find stable humid conditions, suggesting a southern location of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The presence of high montane vegetation indicates an early uplift of the Western Cordillera of the northern Andes.

Pressure coring is currently the only method that enables precise off-site analysis of gas and gas-hydrate volumes in marine sediments. Pressure barrels for sampling and preservation of submarine sediments under in situ pressure with the robotic sea-floor drill rig MeBo (MARUM, Bremen, Germany) were developed. Here we report on the design and operational procedure of the so-called MDP during two seagoing cruises and demonstrate functionality by presenting results from pressure core degassing.

This paper describes a new tracer delivery system designed for use with seabed drills. The motivation for this system was the need to assess for possible seawater contamination of hard rock cores intended for microbiological and geochemical assessment. During IODP Expedition 357, the system was tested and proven to deliver a synthetic tracer at target saturating concentrations, which was useful for assessing sample contamination and handling procedures.

The studies were initiated to investigate potential changes in the important coastal upwelling system off NW Africa and to evaluate the role of mineral dust for carbon sequestration into the deep ocean. For this purpose, we deployed time series sediment traps in the deep water column off Cape Blanc, Mauritania. A more than two-decadal sediment trap record from this coastal upwelling system is now presented with respect to deep ocean mass fluxes, flux components and their longer term variability.