Yesterday, the R/V JOIDES Resolution (image above) left the port of Auckland for Expedition 376: Brothers Arc Flux! On this incredible adventure, 30 scientists from all around the globe and from various backgrounds will unite with the goal of to discover the fundamental, underlying processes that make the Brothers Volcano so different (you will learn more about the Brothers Volcano in another blog post).

The science crew is composed of microbiologists (like me!), geochemists, petrologists, geologists, and engineers. We work all around the clock in shifts of 12 hours, either noon to midnight or midnight to noon. We will be aboard the R/V JOIDES Resolution (also called the JR) until July 5, where we will come back to the port of Auckland.

Over the next 8 weeks, I will blog about life on the ship, the science objectives of Expedition 376, microbial life in the subseafloor, Brothers Volcano and other hydrothermal systems, tools used to study the subseafloor, and more! Feel free to contact me with any questions or topics you would like to hear about.

Let the adventure begin!