Atlantic Cruise 09: Abyssal Plain

Early this morning, we reached Station 16. We have passed the continetal shelf and slope and are above the abyssal plain. The abyssal plain lies between the continental rise and the mid-oceanic ridge. It is the flattest section of the deep ocean basin and is very deep (a few thousand meters in depth). It covers 40% of the ocean floor, yet, it is one of the least explored areas of the ocean.

As a part of the sediment team, I awoke at 5 A.M. to begin box coring. The sea was so serene as it quietly lapped against the boat in the darkness. Geraldine and I were able to see the sun rise and we even caught a glimpse of a faint rainbow. It was so nice just to take a few moments to ponder where we are and how vast and beautiful the ocean is!

On a more technical note, we had to attach the "pinger," which is a device that sends out sound waves in order to determine how far the box corer is from the sea floor. Katlin sits inside in the main lab in front of all of the screens, watching the data being sent by the pinger. She can tell when the box corer hits bottom and tells the doghouse when to stop the box corer and start bringing it back up to the boat. Today, we hit 3,358 meters deep!