The JOIDES Resolution is not only capable of drilling deep into the earth but it provides its scientists onboard labs to process the core immediately after it’s retrieved for a wealth of information. Today the Rockers toured the Core lab and, with the help of the science staff, processed cores from Hess Deep and Costa Rica Rift. Throughout the afternoon every Rocker took part in thin section microscopy where they analyzed basaltic and gabbroic compositions, core rock descriptions, magnetic susceptibility testing and together they compared notes from the different cores to develop hypotheses about what their cores were telling them. After considering the evidence before them and with the help of Road Jon (Jon Snow) the Rockers came to understand the formation of the basalts, gabbros and peridotites. With that knowledge they were able to deduce how the rate of cooling of melt derived from Earth’s mantle affected the chemical composition, grain size and color of their samples.