Actvity Summary: Students will be able to describe how deep sea cores are used in scientific investigations and explain how science is a human endeavor conducted in various ways.

In this lesson, students will analyze images from the International Ocean Discovery Program to understand the process of how cores are collected from the ocean floor and then processed to obtain data about the past environments that occurred as these sediments were deposited. Before completing this lesson, students should be familiar with the process of science and how data can be collected to provide evidence for Earth processes, particularly subduction zones and the natural hazards associated with them.

This lesson has been revised and updated based on How do Scientists Conduct Research on Ancient Environments?