Science AMA Series: Scientists are on board the R/V JOIDES Resolution for two months to drill into the ocean floor to investigate geochemical, tectonic, and biological processes occurring in undersea mud volcanoes in an active subduction zone.

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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. The current expedition is Expedition 366: Marina Convergent Margin, aboard the U.S. vessel for scientific ocean drilling, the JOIDES Resolution.

The scientists embarking on this expedition hope to learn (1) how sediments, fluids and chemicals move and cycle through the earth’s crust; (2) the role of tectonics and mud volcanoes in transporting fluids and sediments in subduction zones; and (3) how these physical and chemical movements impact living organisms.

The research team will use deep sea drilling technology to drill into undersea mud volcanoes near the Mariana Trench, taking core samples of sediments and fluids that they can study on board the ship. By analyzing the chemicals, sediment layers, and microorganisms within the core sample, scientists can answer questions about how rocks, fluids, and chemicals cycle through the earth's crust, and this affects life on the seafloor and beyond. Studying sediment layers, geochemical cycles, and fluid dynamics in the earth's crust can tell us a lot about how geological formations (like volcanoes, canyons, and mountains) are formed, and how they change over long periods of time. By extracting cores in subduction zones, scientists can answer questions about how the earth's crust moves and changes through plate tectonics, and how this impacts life in the ocean and on land. Collecting biological samples of living (and past) organisms in these seismically active regions allows us to study how life on earth may have begun, and how organisms have evolved to survive in extreme environments.

A team of 30 scientists from around the globe are on board for two months to work on these questions. Hand-in-hand with the amazing technology required to drill deep into the ocean floor, we are collecting the core samples that hold clues to answer these questions.

We'll be back at 10 am ET to answer your questions, ask us anything about this intriguing science, how we got here, what we hope to discover, and our lives on board the ship! AMA!

">Science AMA Series: Scientists are on board the R/V JOIDES Resolution for two months to drill into the ocean floor to investigate geochemical, tectonic, and biological processes occurring in undersea mud volcanoes in an active subduction zone.