When we drop anchor, we’ll be lowering a big drill from the ship to the sea floor. This drill will poke holes in the ocean floor and bring back a skinny tube of mud and rocks. When the scientists get that sample, which is called a core, into the lab, they’ll be looking at its different layers. These layers are like a diary of the history of that part of the world, and the entries the scientists are most interested in are layers of volcanic ash that sink to the sea floor when volcanoes erupt.
There should be a lot of these layers because there is a whole network of volcanoes under the ocean beneath Santorini. In the past, these volcanoes exploded and caused havoc for the ancient civilizations that lived nearby. One really big explosion underneath Santorini might have created a tsunami that hurt the ancient civilization on Crete—a nearby island—and caused their civilization to decline.
By figuring out the history of all these explosions, the scientists are hoping to learn what triggered the explosions. That way, they’ll be able to predict if they are going to explode again and help people get to safety. I’m along for the ride to help the scientists tell their stories, to take pictures, and to share all the cool things they’ll discover along the way.
The JOIDES Resolution will be my home-away-from-home for two full months while we are at sea and on expedition. Knowing that I can't just run to a store to pick up an items that I forget, what do you think I should pack for this adventure? There’s not a ton of space in my bag, so I needed to decide which clothes to take, what entertainment I’ll want for my free time, and which snacks I should bring with me.
There are some special considerations when packing clothes.
