Impact of COVID-19 on the International Ocean Discovery Program’s Expedition 395C

Join us for a special session for educators with Justin Dodd, associate professor of Earth, Atmosphere, and Environment at Northern Illinois University, and Jose Cuevas, M.S.-degree candidate in marine biogeochemistry at Boston College.

Iceland’s extreme volcanic activity is the result of a mantle plume that carries heat from deep within the Earth to its surface along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Mostly underwater, the seafloor geology of this unique environment reveals the geochemical composition of the Earth’s interior.
Expedition 395C of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) sought to take a deeper look at processes that connect the oceans and the Earth’s mantle by sending an interdisciplinary team of scientists, technicians, drillers, stewards, and outreach personnel to the submarine Reykjanes Ridge. But in March 2020, these plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The JOIDES Resolution instead had to sail with a skeleton crew, and the practice of science had to be done remotely.
Join us as we discuss how the JOIDES Resolution’s on-board technical and support staff, in tandem with the remote scientists and educators, worked together under unprecedented circumstances to accomplish this one-of-a-kind expedition.

This offering is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation.