Data collection sites in South China Sea

A, Sites in South China Sea where the USGS deepwater tripod and about a dozen moorings will collect data to shed light on sediment movement and accumulation on the seafloor. Red dots, sites of instrumented platforms. Green triangles, sites of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) boreholes. Long-dashed yellow line, hypothesized route of deep contour-following current entering from the Pacific Ocean. Short-dashed yellow line, hypothesized alternative route of deep current from the Pacific. B, Seismic-reflection profile along line a–b on map, showing sediment layers in an apparent contourite (deposited by contour currents). Simplified drawings indicate where scientists intend to place the tripod (TJ-A-2) and several moorings (TJ-A-1, TJ-A-3, TJ-A-4). C, Enlarged map of line c–d, showing sites (red dots) where groups of moorings will be placed along the axis of a submarine canyon (Formosa Canyon).