Exploring the Pacific seafloor

The Ship with a Hole in it

The ship JOIDES Resolution is a platform for seafloor research and as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program has, over the last 40 years, unlocked many of the secrets of the ocean floor, from climate change to plate tectonics. The trip I participated on was a project to place a seafloor observatory in the Pacific sea bed in 1320m of water so that long term data can be gathered. Previous trips had taken seafloor cores to examine them chemically, microbiologically, and magnetically to yield secrets to past climate change.

To the right is the moon pool, the hole in the middle of the ship through which drill pipe and equipment begins its journey to the sea floor.

This talk uses images, video and audio clips, to capture what it is like to live on a drill ship conducting science in one of the most difficult environments on the planet.