Between Heaven and Hell

[Article] - Published on March 14, 2016 in Doctoral and HDR Programs

Setting sail to try to unlock the Earth’s secrets: that’s the scientific adventure Carlotta Ferrando has embarked on. Here is the story of a doctoral student who has just spent two months conducting intensive research in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Welcome aboard the Joides Resolution. At 140 meters long, it is one of the scientific drilling vessels of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). A doctoral student at Géosciences Montpellier as part of the European ABYSS project, Carlotta was part of Expedition 360 Southwest Indian Ridge, from November 30 to January 30. The objective of this ocean campaign was to drill into the oceanic crust south of Réunion Island.

Understanding the Formation of the Oceanic Crust

What are the objectives of the mission?
The main one: studying the processes involved in the formation of the oceanic crust. In the middle of the oceans, tectonic plates move apart along the mid-ocean ridge, bringing magma—derived from the partial melting of the Earth’s mantle, several tens of kilometers below the surface—into contact with the marine environment. As this magma cools, it forms the oceanic crust.
What does your work involve?
It involves analyzing samples in the form of “core” samples collected through drilling. The mid-ocean ridge is a unique place, the meeting point between the ocean and the Earth’s depths. It’s one of the only places where our planet brings the inside and outside of its shell into dialogue! Magma, rocks, and water perform an astonishing ballet there, bubbling with chemical reactions. My role is to identify the minerals present and analyze their chemical composition in order to study the interactions between magma and rock.

Messages from the Heart of the Earth

How deep do the drillings go?
On this expedition, we drilled 800 meters deep into the oceanic crust. There are 700 meters of water between the ship’s hull and the ocean floor… This is a record: the deepest drilling ever achieved in a single expedition into the rocks of the magmatic oceanic crust! The deepest scientific borehole ever drilled by the JOIDES Resolution is 2.1 km.
So what you’re observing under the microscope is the Earth’s core?
Far from it; the outer core of the Earth lies nearly 2,900 km beneath our feet. Rather, I’m looking for messages from the depths within the minerals. Messages rich in insights: the mineralogical and chemical composition of rock samples can teach us a great deal and change our understanding of the dynamics of Earth’s crust formation.
Next step?
The samples have just arrived at the lab, and work resumes—on land this time. It will take time to process and analyze all the samples. So no publication is expected for a few years. See you sometime in 2018!

Floating Laboratory

On board the Joides Resolution are 120 people of all nationalities, including 30 researchers from a wide range of disciplines, as well as engineers, sailors, drillers, cooks…
In this floating research facility, work is intense, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:“Nothing stops the drilling, except for extremely rough weather or technical issues. Samples arrive constantly. Physical and chemical analyses: the labs are running at full capacity, day and night. Teams take 12-hour shifts… which quickly run over: it’s not uncommon to work 18 hours straight!”
An experience that can be difficult at times, but one that proves particularly valuable for a doctoral student.“There’s constant exchange among researchers of all ages and with very different areas of expertise: we’re all looking at the same subject, but from different angles. There is so much to learn from this clash of ideas and perspectives, from this constant intellectual stimulation.”
For two months, Carlotta was a willing prisoner of this “science bubble” where it’s easy to forget the contingencies of “normal” life. Impressions upon returning?“It’s an extraordinary crash course! An ideal way to learn scientific practice.” And also a wonderful adventure that left behind incredible memories, “guitar evenings on the deck with the setting sun on the horizon, out at sea… in the middle of nowhere!”