|
 |
Gravity Cores posted by Denise on 13 Feb 2005 |
 |
|
When we awoke this morning it was dark and pouring rain. During the night, the Chirp stopped “talking” with the computer, so the team had to come up with a way to fix it – which they did. It seems like there are always good problems to solve while working at sea. They got soaked working in the rain during the night, so they felt a little jealous that as we began our shift the sun came out and it turned into a gorgeous day! |
|
Into the Bowels of the Ship posted by Denise on 12 Feb 2005 |
|
|
This afternoon following lunch we had a break in work. We are currently above a coring site that lies 1300 meters below. At 35 meters per minute, the box core takes an hour or more to travel to the sea bed, capture the core and return to the surface. I used the time to interview Captain Bryon Wilson and to meet with Chief Engineer, Lew Skelton. |
« Later 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Earlier »
 |
|
 |
View from space of ocean floor around New Zealand.
The turquoise area is a narrow strip of shallow (<2000 m) ocean also known as the continental margin. |
Although viewed by most as remote, removed, and perilous, the oceans are home to a world of deep beauty and are a great source of food and other natural resources (e.g., oil). In addition, they are a fascinating place to recreate and explore. Exploration and examination of the oceans is critical to finding new resources and learning about Earth history (and possibly the future). Furthermore, the oceans, which cover over two-thirds of the planet’s surface, are a processing factory for materials draining from land. |
| Ocean study is needed to understand how activities and events on land are processed and recorded in the sea, and this is the primary focus of our research in New Zealand. This research is funded by the Source to Sink - MARGINS program of the National Science Foundation.
Why the Waipaoa River in New Zealand?
Unlike the eastern coast of the United States (e.g., North Carolina) which has a broad coastal plain, many coastlines around the world have rugged mountains immediately next to the sea and lack bodies of water (e.g. Pamlico Sound) between rivers and the ocean. The northeast coast of New Zealand, where the Waipaoa River enters the sea, is one example. In these settings, materials from land can be rapidly transported to the ocean, and as a result sediments and dissolved material may quickly accumulate on the ocean floor and affect ocean ecosystems after river flooding. Also, the Waipaoa River discharges an incredible amount of sediment for a river its size. This is because of high rainfall in the area and its easily eroded landscape, which is made of sedimentary rocks. In fact, the Waipaoa River is more than 10 times smaller than the Potomac River but discharges 100 times more sediment!
|
|
 |
|
 |
Coordinating Institutions
|
