JOIDES Resolution

[Mugwump]

The boat unlocking Earth's deepest secrets

We still know more about the surface of Mars than what's under our own seabed.

Here we profile a scientific research vessel that has drilled more holes in the ocean floor than any other and whose expeditions continue to make some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time.

Name: JOIDES Resolution

Nickname: JR

Operator: International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP)

Launched: 1978 (with IODP since 1985)

Type: Ocean-going research drilling vessel

Height: 62m (similar to the leaning tower of Pisa)

Crew: 70 + 60 scientists and technicians

The JOIDES Resolution (JR for short) circumnavigates the globe drilling holes and pulling up rock cores from under the seabed all in the name of scientific research. Rock cores hold important clues to our planet's past and future and the JR provides the perfect place to investigate some of the biggest questions about Earth.

Not only is the JR an impressive ship, it's also a floating laboratory that scientists use to analyse each core and tell us about the climate and life that existed when the sediments where deposited back through Earth's history.

-more-

https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=the-boat-unlocking-earths-deepest-secrets&ocid=fbert