Science AMA Series: We’re Scientists on a Ship off of the Coast of
Australia researching the climate during the Cretaceous and how it is
related to plate tectonics and volcanic activity. AMA!
Abstract
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) conducts scientific
ocean drilling expeditions throughout the world’s oceans in search of
clues to Earth’s structure and past. Right now we are currently in the
middle of Expedition 369, sailing along parts of the southern and
western coast of Australia. We are interested in finding out more about
what the Earth was like during the Cretaceous Period when the Earth was
experiencing an extreme greenhouse climate. During this time period,
Antarctica had no ice cover and was actually attached to Australia.
About 94 million years ago, they broke apart. Part of the expedition is
also studying this plate tectonic movement. The scientists we have
onboard who will be answering your questions include: Dr Brian Huber is
one of the co-chief scientists for Expedition 369. He works at the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. His
research focuses on changes in global climate between 115 to 35 million
years ago and the microscopic organisms called foraminifera during that
time interval. Dr Richard Hobbs is the other co-chief scientist for
Expedition 369. He is a professor in the Department of Earth Science at
Durham University in the UK. His research focuses on understanding more
about seismic waves and he’s currently involved with several different
projects that will help scientists better study and understand the
seismic data they collect. Dr Vivien Cumming is a freelance writer and
photographer focused on bringing science to the public. She has a
background in Earth sciences with a PhD from Durham University and
postdoctoral research experience from Harvard and McGill Universities.
Lauren O’Connor is sailing as an organic geochemist, and her role is
analysing gas from core samples and determining the amount of carbonate
and organic carbon in the rocks we’re drilling. She just finished her
PhD at the University of Oxford. She is a palaeoclimatologist working on
the Late Cretaceous (66-100 million years ago), reconstructing changes
in ocean temperature, and how those temperature changes compare to
changes in atmospheric CO2, ocean circulation, and the orbit of the
Earth. Dr Lloyd White is a Lecturer in the School of Earth and
Environmental Sciences at the University of Wollongong, Australia and an
Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences, Royal
Holloway, University of London. Lloyd’s research focuses on
understanding how plates break apart and how mountains form in plate
collision zones. The JOIDES Resolution is the only research vessel
operated by the United States dedicated to scientific ocean drilling. As
Us Anything!