Earth s Deep Sea Sediment From The Ocean Floor - 963 Words

A 500-foot long ship complete with a giant Eiffel tower looking structure right in the middle sails through remote parts of the ocean carrying practically a whole village; complete with electricians, diesel mechanics, drillers, a captain and his crew, and a bunch of nerdy scientists. These â€Å"nerdy scientists† have one objective: to recover deep-sea sediment from the ocean floor in order to attain an age model of these sediments and reconstruct the earth’s climate. By analyzing microscopic shelled organisms from the ocean floor, associate professor Daniel Clay Kelly of UW-Madison’s Department of Geoscience can study theses samples, which show age, acidity, ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels. From his research, he has found that the levels of ocean acidity have increased significantly and that the increase in carbon dioxide has doubled since 1960 and just since 2011 it has risen almost 30%. The increase in carbon dioxide has risen by almost 25% since 1960 and since 2011 it has risen almost 2%. â€Å"So if this was a patient in the intensive care unit, and you were monitoring their pulse, they basically just had a heart attack,† said Kelly. Kelly is able to use deep-sea sediment records as an archive of the Earth’s climate, which spans the last 170 million years of earth’s history. â€Å"As paleontologists and geologists, we know the rock record is incomplete,† said Kelly. â€Å"It’s like a book and a lot of the pages have been torn out. But as you go around from place toShow MoreRelatedThe Geology Of The Ocean Basins1056 Words   |  5 PagesGeology of the Ocean Basins Oceanic basins can be close to land, starting at a continents edge and moving inward towards deeper water, but geologically speaking, basins are any part of the ocean below sea level. 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It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processesRead MoreThesis2443 Words   |  10 Pagesscience, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of p rocesses