With the last core on deck, final paleomagnetic measurements made, and all reports submitted, Expedition 354: Bengal Fan is coming to an end. We will be in Sri Lanka soon and then I head back to Oregon. It has been a great experience to work and learn with scientists from all over the world.
Some of the scientific highlights for me were:
- Drilling over 1 km below the sea floor to recover sediments and rocks spanning almost the entire Cenozoic.
- Recovering the deepest piston core in IODP history (and the deepest APC temperature measurement).
- Finding our first reversal and then being able to predict (to within 10 cm) where we would find it again at other sites.
- Using the polarity record, biostratigraphy, and other stratigraphic markers to tie together and correlate all seven Pleistocene transect sites.
- Working with a great group of Paleomagnetists and a great science party.
The education and outreach team have done a great job putting together a few videos to help share what we are doing. Check out this one to learn more about the expedition’s source to sink approach and this one to learn more about the many turbidites we recovered.
The Expedition 354 Paleomagnetic Team. It was great working with Peter Selkin, Laure Meynadier, and Jairo Savian (Photo credit: Tim Fulton).
My fellow day shift P-magger and great scientist to work with, Laure Meynadier (Photo credit: Michael Weber).
The science party gathered on the catwalk for the last core of Expedition 354.
The final core recovered during Expedition 354: Bengal Fan.