Dating the Cores

One of the most unique and innovative aspects of IODP Expedition 389 is the opportunity to collect data from extremely old corals. “The coral samples we’re getting from this expedition are fascinating because they span the last half million years,” says Ana Prohaska, a microbiologist and paleogenetic specialist. “In my work with ancient DNA, we’ve

Scientist Spotlight: Logan Brenner

Logan Brenner is a paleoclimatologist interested in reconstructing past oceanic conditions using the geochemistry of stony corals. After receiving her B.A. from Skidmore College, she earned her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Science from Columbia University and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Since 2019, Brenner has been a faculty member at Barnard College in the Department

First Impressions of MARUM

By Pankaj Khanna I first came across MARUM at the University of Bremen 12 years ago. At the time, I was in the process of researching graduate schools in marine geoscience. I ended up attending Rice University to work on drowned coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. Back in 2012, I never could have

Welcome to the Onshore Science Party

After much anticipation and planning, we are excited to officially begin the onshore phase of Expedition 389. We have 30 scientists from 11 different countries gathered here at MARUM in Bremen, Germany. While some of us are jetlagged, the eagerness to begin our work is palpable. Discussions of CT scanning, microbiolites, coral characteristics, and core

A Conversation with Stephan Jorry

Stephan Jorry is a marine geoscience researcher at Ifremer, a French research institute dedicated to expanding our knowledge and understanding of the ocean. His research areas include deep sea sedimentology and paleo environments, with a focus on carbonate sediment morphologies. How and when did you decide to become a marine geoscientist? My first experience in

The magic of the first look

For many people, the “magic of a first look” is often associated with someone’s wedding day. Not Jody Webster. When he walks into the mess waxing poetic about “the first look”, he’s referring to the fossil reef cores we just recovered. I smile at the pure, unadulterated joy on the Co-Chief Scientist’s face – it’s

A Conversation with Pankaj Khanna

Pankaj Khanna is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. This is his first IODP expedition. What is your background and area of expertise? I’m a carbonate sedimentologist, and the main goal of my research is to understand past sea level fluctuation based on how reefs

Physics prevails

Inside a large white shipping container, the soft click and whir of mechanics hum gently in the background. These little sounds are being generated by the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) as it scans the latest core from the seafloor. While the core slowly makes its way through the futuristic-looking tube, Marisa Rydzy and Stephan Jorry

The First Core

Inside the curation container, Jody Webster peers into a transparent, cylindrical tube – a core liner holding the first official core of our expedition. After pulling up this meter and a half of rocks and sediment (from a depth of about 740 meters on top of the reef terrace) our geo technicians extracted it from

Meet our Co-Chief Scientists

Our Co-Chief Scientists, Jody Webster and Christina Ravelo, have been planning this expedition for many years. Ravelo, a professor in the Ocean Sciences Department at the University of California – Santa Cruz, is an expert in reconstructing and understanding past climate change. Webster, a Professor in the Geocoastal Research Group, School of Geosciences at the