Dear Mr. Tull, Mr. Brown and John Jay High Students:  We know you won’t see this before we talk today, but thought we’d send a few notes so you could talk about them tomorrow.  Be sure to write with any questions you have about The JR, the cores, the people we’re sailing with!

We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day on the Pacific.  The sky is clear, we’re on the move to one more drill site, and the ship is very quiet.  And we’re crossing our fingers that our bandwidth and satellite connections hold up!  My friends and colleagues have prepared some very interesting things to share with you, and, just in case, Mr. Buchholtz has lots of video.

Here’s today’s lineup:

1.  You’ll meet Dr. Adam Klaus.  Adam is our staff scientist, which means he works for IODP and makes sure all the visiting scientists get everything they need during the expedition.

2.  Next, I’ll introduce Joe “Bubba” Attryde, one of two toolpushers and core techs on the ship.  Bubba knows Mr. Buchholtz and sailed with him in 2005.  He’s going to show you some very interesting cutting shoes.  Be sure to see the video with the first bit and the first core on our YouTube page.  Bubba’s in charge of all those operations.

3.  After Bubba, you’ll meet assistant lab officer Lisa Crowder, PhD candidate Lizette Leon-Rodriguez, and new PhD and lab tech Sarah Jane Jackett.  Together, they’ll show you a core and explain how they analyze it in the labs.  After our broadcast, I’ll post some photos Lizette asked me to share with you, including some foraminiferans and cool cores.

4.  Last but not least, we’ll close with Kelly VonDrehle, our publications officer and a fairly recent Texas A&M graduate.  She’ll tell you about her new career and life at sea.

The picture above is Lizette and Sarah Jane.  Below, I’ve attached some video of our recent visitor at Site U1335.  She (I want to think it was a “she”) was very lovely.  Lisa has more video that I’ll add to our YouTube page this afternoon.