As we begin Week 3 of Expedition 340 many guests have come aboard to join us from classrooms around the globe. Yesterday and today students from the United Kingdom, California and the French island of Guadeloupe have toured the JR while she is at sea. We are currently off the western coast of Martinique. Core retrieval has been a bit slow compared to yesterday (24 cores retrieved) because we have encountered a harder volcanic material in the bore hole. Our goal is to reach over 300 meters into the seafloor. We have changed drill bits to the XCB but recovery rates (that is the amount of sample we are bringing up from the ocean floor) is quite low…  and we have replaced several drill bits. Can anyone suggest why the recovery rates are lower in the harder volcanic material?

 

 Photo credits to Takeshi Saito, Etienne Claassen, Teresa Greely 

Yesterday was an exciting day for students at Don Callejon Middle School in Santa Clara California. Students from several classes joined us aboard the JOIDES Resolution to see first-hand what 340 Ocean Detectives are discovering. Two scientists participated in the question and answer sessions following a tour the JOIDES Resolution. Andrew Fraass, a micropaleontologist shared about his research using pelagic forams to help determine the ages of expedition 340 sediment cores. So far, sediment ages range from 400 thousand to over 4 million years. California students also met Martin Jutzeler, a physical properties specialist who determines the density, strength and elasticity of the rock and sediments were retrieving from cores. Thank you, students for your wonderful questions, teacher Dana Brown, and Ocean Detectives Andy and Martin. Go CUBS!

 

Yesterday and today we had two LIVE Aboard the JR videoconferences with students in the United Kingdom. Over 120 students from Brockenhurst College and Abbotswood Jr School in Hampshire UK participated. After a tour of the JR students visited one on one with Inorganic Geochemist, Martin Palmer from the Oceanography Centre in Southampton for a Questions & Answers session. Thank you students for such thorough questions and to Dr. Palmer for engaging us in your research experience aboard the JR. Thanks to teachers and technicians in the UK for helping to make this happen, Sharon Goldsworthy, Mike Farrington, Fiona Brocklesby and Ian Jacobs.

 

It was a wonderful day of learning during our LIVE Aboard the JR with students from the French island of Guadeloupe (West Indies).  Students and their teacher, Francoise PERMAYE, from College Eugene Yssap, in Sainte Anne Guadeloupe joined us aboard the JR this afternoon. The broadcast began with Expedition 340 co-chief scientist, Anne Le Friant, giving students a tour of the JR followed by research overviews from physical properties specialist Sara Lafuerza Colas, structural geologist Georges Boudon, and inorganic geochemist Benoit Villemant. Following the tour students had a Question & Answer session with all four French scientists on the expedition. Thank you, students and teachers for your visit and questions, and special thanks to our four French 340 Ocean Detectives for generously sharing your time and research. Merci!