Hi crew: Today’s picture is a composite that could be entitled “one more core.” This shows the marine technicians, women and men, young and older, taking the initial steps of processing a 9.5-m core. First, by carefully measuring the core, cutting it into 1.5-m sections, and labeling each section, then bringing the sections into the lab where they are logged into the computer and placed in a rack where they must remain for at least 4 hours to thermally equilibrate.

The marine techs work throughout the labs in support of the many analyses that occur at sea. After graduating with your Bachelors degree, working as a marine technician with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is a nice line of employment if you like to travel and work with people from around the world. The techs typically sail every-other expedition, so 2 months at sea, 2 months at home. If you’re interested, ask me and I can tell you more about the things the marine techs do and the qualifications necessary.

Mark L.