This is a brief overview of long continental fossil pollen records globally in relationship with marine records. Specifically, the Northern Andes is a key area in developing and testing hypotheses in the fields of ecology, paleobiogeography, and climate change in tropical regions. We review 60 years of deep drilling experience in this region that have led to landmark records. We also highlight the early development of long continental pollen records from unique, deep, sediment-filled basins.

A scientific drilling was conducted into a bedrock trough (overdeepening) in Bern-Bümpliz (Switzerland) in an effort to advance the knowledge of the Quaternary prior to 150 000 years ago. We encountered a 208.5 m-thick succession of loose sediments (gravel, sand and mud) in the retrieved core and identified two major sedimentary sequences (A: lower, B: upper). The sedimentary suite records two glacial advances and the subsequent filling of a lake sometime between 300 000 and 200 000 years ago.

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project provides insights into the deep structure and bedrock of a ca. 400 Ma old major orogen to study deformation processes that are hidden at depth from direct access in modern mountain belts. This paper describes the successful operations at the second site. It provides an overview of the retrieved geological section that differs from the expected and summarises the scientific potential of the accomplished data sets and drill core.

Smear slides are a method of estimating sediment composition that is widely used as part of scientific drilling expeditions. These estimates are frequently used to classify sediments but are often not used in further analysis. We show that smear slide estimates, even if not highly accurate, track well with downcore physical property and elemental analyses. This work gives confidence in smear slide estimates in characterizing trends and cycles in sediment composition.

During ChikyuOman2018 Leg3, we adapted a sample preparation and analytical procedure in order to analyse (ultra-)trace element concentrations using the D/V Chikyu on-board instrumentation. This dry (acid-free) and safe method has been developed for the determination of 37 elements (lowest reachable concentrations: 1–2 ppb) in igneous rocks from the oceanic lithosphere and could be adapted to other materials and/or chemicals of interest in the course of future ocean drilling operations.

How much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will melt and how quickly it will happen when average global temperatures exceed 2 °C is currently unknown. Given the far-reaching and international consequences of Antarctica’s future contribution to global sea level rise, the SWAIS 2C Project was developed in order to better forecast the size and timing of future changes.