Oceanographic equipment are very expensive because it works under water which is basically stressful environment to machines using electricity due to pressure and 'water' itself. Although this job can be physically challenged due to the characteristics of environment where we work, many research cruises have been built as much as comfortable for scientists. But there are still many oceanographers who want to be dirty, work harder, and avoid any comfort zone at least during the cruise.
Dr. Jeff Cornwell and Mike Owen (faculty research assistant) at Horn Point Laboratory have been collecting estuarine sediments from all over the U.S. more than two decades. Studying bio-geo-chemical mechanisms occurring under the benthic environment is crucial to understand entire ecosystem responses due to high biogeochemical activities of micro and macro organisms under the sediment. As we cannot understand atmospheric reactions (e.g., climate) without knowing the interaction between atmosphere and earth's surface, we cannot find about the function or productivity of 'water' without the understanding of 'sediment'.
This is why we collected sediment core samples from Chesapeake Bay 'no oxygen' zone to find out the biochemical characteristics of the area.
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| Sediment Cores |
And don't forget that mud is good for your skin, too!!!
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| My 17 yr old dog, Ggang-ggang. |
