In October 1989, the principal investigators began a study of the extent to which Devals bound discrete magmatic and tectonic units of the East Pacific Rise. They used a 'rock coring' sampling technique, as well as dredging and a new precussion core rock sampler to collect samples at 198 sites. Bottom photographs and videos were also obtained. The result is an unprecedented data set that includes very precisely located samples, both along and across the East Pacific Rise, over nearly fifty kilometers of ridge.
