Expedition Gallery: Studying the Seafloor

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Equatorial Calm

Sunset on the equator.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Benjamin Brunner)

Scientist at Sunset

A scientist at sunset on a research vessel.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Benjamin Brunner)

The scientific crew worked 12 hour shifts for 42 days aboard the Knorr.

R/V Knorr

The research vessel Knorr.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Benjamin Brunner)

The research vessel Knorr anchored in Costa Rica.

Core Comes Aboard

A sediment core comes aboard the R/V Knorr.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Hans Røy)

A 10-foot (3 meter) core of the seafloor comes aboard the R/V Knorr. Scientists analyzed the oxygen levels inside the sediment to measure the metabolisms of microbes inside.

Sampling the Seafloor

A core brought aboard the RV Knorr.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Hans Røy)

A 98 foot (30 meter) core pulled from the seafloor. Photo by Hans Roy.

Aquatic Ecologist Hans Roy

Researcher Hans Roy guiding a sediment core in.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Bo Barker Jørgensen.)

Hans Roy guides a sediment core on board on another research voyage.

Core Sample

A core sample of mud as old as 10,000 years.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Bo Barker Jørgensen.)

An example of a core sample (this one with sediment dating back to the Ice Age).

Opening a Core

Hans roy opens a sediment core.

(Image credit: Image © Science/AAAS, photograph by Bo Barker Jørgensen.)

Researcher Hans Roy opens a sediment core (not taken on the R/V Knorr expedition). The sediment in the core has not seen the sun for 10,000 years.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.