Blogs

After several attempts to get a stable, new hole started, this weeks drilling has been very successful. The P hole (no jokes please) has yielded some interesting results and several meters of Gabbro. We are now coring 58 meters below the seafloor and the hole is holding up.

The gloves are coming off for these sample requests, and unfortunately it’s been terribly fun for me to watch. Because of the collaboration condition, people are strategizing and carefully selecting the perfect piece of core. The problem is that’s only half the battle. Odds are another group could be gunning for the same section. So what do you do then? Compromise?

The Education team has a wall outside of our office where we place images, video feedback, notes, updates, etc to inform the scientists on board what we're doing. It's been quite effective, as we notice most people stop on their way out the door to see what's new.

Well, it’s that time everyone. The time to start thinking about what we’ll do with all the information we’ve collected while at sea. The time to revise the initial research plans that got us out here, the time to figure out logistics and schedules and figure out what samples we’ll need.

The longer we stay in one spot the greater the diversity of marine life around us. It started with flying fish and squid, then mahi mahi, frigate birds, whales boobies and now turtles and sharks.

The things we do to entertain ourselves, and give our minds a break from the seriousness of work.

Olivine is the first mineral to crystallize when magma is cooling.

It is the reason why Olivine is often present in the gabbros, but also in the basalts.

Olivine can crystallize at a temperature of about 1000 ° C. This is the first mineral of the Bowen reaction sequence (see enigma 7: Minerals!)

Several members of the science party are Scottish or have Scottish roots so a Burn's Night celebration was proposed. In Scotland, 25th January is the day for remembering the poet Robbie Burns of Auld Lang Syne fame. The event involves the eating of haggis, (a sort of meaty, oatmeal dish), tatties (potatoes) and neaps (mashed turnips) all washed down with plenty of Whiskey.

A few night ago Michael Cheaddle took this amazing shot of the moon and Jupiter from the steel beach on the top deck of the JR. This area is the perfect place to watch for whales, see the sun go down or read a book on one of the sun loungers... just beware of the stealth flying Frigate birds and their deadly ammunition of guano...

The answer was found by some of our frequent readers. Thank you for following us and explore with us in a fun way, all aspects of geology.

Once the candle lit, the small ring of nickel previously attracted by the magnet will stop being attracted to it and will hang in the vertical piece of wood.