Blogs

Our teacher for this one has been down in the ALVIN Submersible to collect samples! The core is beautiful - has iron, pyrite, sulfer - all kinds of beautiful veins, and patterns. A lot of chemistry today.  Got to see a couple porpoises this morning swimming and jumping port side of the bow - no photos as the waves are still BIG and coming over the side.

Yes. I know that this title leads one to believe that I have no appreciation for paleoceanography. This is simply untrue. The paleo lesson in which we participated was a very engaging process - and the outcome was enlightening. But I just happen to be a little more excited about the mafic rocks we saw today since Katie Inderbitzen (our instructor) shared a big secret with us.

School of Rock is really a school. As teachers we want to go out and learn new things to bring back to our classroom. What is really wild is when we attend a school that rocks. Literally rocks. Right now we are sailing in some pretty rough weather.  Currently we have approximately 35-knot winds and 15-18 foot seas. Everyone is hanging tough though.

Take a core,

look at a biogenic material section,

prepare a smear slide

and play with Forams.

That's it !

Aloha All,

The 34 million year old core sample only recently came back on the ship, but that sediment sure did have a lovely scent.  Calvin Klein probably could not market it, however if you are looking for a cheap alternative smell to replace the 3 week old cheese in your fridge, we may have a winner.

As my bed was rocking last night and I was afraid I was going to be airlifted, I was struck by what lengths people go to for science. I made a joke with my students once watching some movie in class when the ficticious scientists jumped across a crevass in the ice to recover their ice cores - like "oh I would totally do that for science," facetiously.

So for younger readers, I should probably start off by explaining that I am using the word "dope" in the mid-twentieth century, American usage of the word, when for a couple decades hipsters used it to mean "information." Lessons on archaic slang aside, it was interesting to learn yesterday that the average temperature of the earth from the ancient past can be determined by

Well, we've been out at sea for just over two days now and I'm beginning to get my sea legs. Last evening and this morning we have experienced some rough seas which makes walking around a little challenging. We spent yesterday analyzing some core sediments and discussing the results. The cores show the Paleocence-Eocene boundary as preserved in the sediments.

So, last night, our first real night at sea (not in harbor), the wall started squeaking.  Luckily, I had brought ear plugs, so I used them, and slept right through my alarm for a total of 9.5 hours of sleep.  Good thing I caught up, because tonight we started hitting real waves, and I mean hitting literally!  From my bunk, I can hear the smack of the water on the bottom of the sh