I tell students in our videoconferences that the reason we work 24/7 onboard the JR is that “Science Never Sleeps!” Well, it turns out that science doesn’t really care for Halloween, either.

We have been coring non-stop for the last 8 days, including Monday, which was Halloween. Just as we were all getting ready for the big Halloween party, we heard the call, “Core on Deck…Core on Deck!” So techs and scientists headed out to the catwalk to process the new core…some of them already in costume. Take a look:

Curator “JR” Gemma and I are all ready to spring into action when we hear “Core on Deck!”

 

Assistant Lab Officer crazy-hair-Lisa, Marine Lab Specialist Maggie, and Gemma all work hard to process the core quickly and get it inside to the waiting scientists.

 

Pirate microbiologist Beth, and Petrologist Olivier work together to decide which rocks should be taken to the microbiology lab for sampling. Gemma stands by to label and record each sample taken, while co-chief scientist and mainly-microbe microbiologist Katrina Edwards watches.

 

Once in the microbiology lab, an assortment of characters waits to process the samples. Pirate Beth leads the way, while Russian sailor microbiologist Steffen records the samples, procedures, and observations, and microbiologist “Julius Caesar” Heath prepares the sampling area and smashes the rocks to bits with a hammer. All-in-all, it was a pretty fun way to spend Halloween!