Your Experience

During our Sea Floor Overnight program students study the dynamic effects of plate tectonics through the investigation of sea floor geology, sediment cores, microfossils, underwater seismology and more. The sea floor is a good place to study the history of the planet because it undergoes fewer disturbances than land. Students will examine the composition of layers in a core sample by working as a team to unlock the mysteries of Earth’s climatic and tectonic past. The scientific processes of acquiring seismic data on land and on the sea floor will be discussed. Students will discuss underwater archeology and determine the best method for retrieving artifacts from the sea floor. During the overnight, students become sea floor scientists and are immersed in challenging research activities that focus on coring, micropaleontology, underwater seismology, hydrothermal vent communities, and more. They delve into deep-sea technology as they design and test their own ROV. Their experience culminates in a morning research cruise aboard our research vessel the R/V Sea Explorer, where students will survey the sea floor using scientific equipment such as a gravity core and side scan sonar.