Stories Of Communicating Scientific Ocean Drilling

Join this lecture in person at the EOS Center or online via Zoom.

Starting with the very first scientific oceanographic research expedition, scientists in this field have been sharing their discoveries with wide-ranging audiences. Tales of adventures at sea are disseminated in the popular press (social media, magazines, books, etc.), while the completed analyses of deep-sea samples are published in scholarly reports and peer-reviewed journals. This presentation will highlight specific examples of how scientific ocean drilling expeditions have been shared from CUSS 1 (Project Mohole), Glomar Challenger, and JOIDES Resolution. A spotlight will be placed on DSDP Leg 3 from 1969, the expedition that provided the evidence for plate tectonics, and IODP Expedition 390, which visited the region just over 50 years later and on which I sailed in 2022 as an Onboard Outreach Officer.

In addition to sharing the process of science at sea through social media, daily geospatial updates, blog posts, and Zoom sessions, I have continued disseminating stories post-expedition through audio narratives and the generation of a quilt collection that includes data visualizations and gamified tapestries. This presentation will include audio clips from scientists that sailed on early and more recent scientific ocean drilling expeditions, exemplifying their experiences with ship-to-shore communications and access to global news. Select quilts from the Stories of the South Atlantic (IODP Exp. 390) collection will also be showcased at the talk.

Distinguished Professor Laura Guertin holds a Ph.D. in Marine Geology & Geophysics from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science and a B.A. in Geology from Bucknell University. She has served as an Earth Science faculty member at Penn State Brandywine since 2001, where she teaches introductory-level geoscience courses for non-STEM majors. Dr. Guertin has received funding from the EPA and has been a PI/co-PI on several NSF projects relating to geoscience education and outreach. Her teaching has been recognized with awards from the Geological Society of America and Association for Women Geoscientists. Other national recognitions include being named a Fellow of both the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, receiving a U.S. Senate Certificate of Special Recognition, and named as a U.S. Congressional Citation Honoree for her work in the area of civic and community engagement. In addition to sailing on two NOAA vessels and JOIDES Resolution, Dr. Guertin has a passion for sharing scientific research and the process of science with all audiences. Her science communication experiences include serving as the geoscience education and educational technology blogger with the American Geophysical Union for nine years, initiating and managing the growing scientific ocean drilling audio archive Tales from the Deep, and quilting science stories, including a 19-quilt collection from IODP Expedition 390 (https://www.sciodquilts.studio/).