Ahoy! I am typing this blogpost aboard the JOIDES Resolution, the flagship of the International Ocean Discovery Program, in the middle of the Indian Ocean! Last night, we reached Ninetyeast Ridge (most-creatively named!), the first drilling site of our research expedition. Currently we are waiting for the drillers to make sure all the equipment is calibrated and ready-to-go. All of us on the day shift and a few from the night shift who are awake are excited and eager to see the first cores come up on deck.

The main goal of Expedition 353: Indian Monsoon Rainfall (or iMonsoon for short) is to understand how the Indian monsoon evolved over the last several tens of millions of years. How is this achieved? By retrieving land-based sediments that made their way to the seafloor through the numerous rivers that flow into Bay of Bengal and/or through wind-based transport. These sediments house the shells of oceanic critters that were living in the past (like foraminifera, diatoms, radiolarians etc.) One of the major factors that influences the chemistry of these sediments and the numerous fossils that are preserved in them is rainfall over the Indian Subcontinent.

So, these sediments hold the key to understanding past monsoon strength (or lack of it). The deeper we drill – the older the sediments. Why do we care about monsoons in the past? Well, we only have very brief instrumental measurements of how much it rained over India, perhaps, 100 years or so – a geological instant. The Indian monsoon has been around a lot longer than that and thus, to fully understand how the monsoon is capable of changing, we need to be really knowledgeable about its past.

The JOIDES Resolution is a very capable research vessel. There are 30 shipboard scientists aboard, each with a unique job assignment. In total, including the technical staff, drilling staff, and the crew, I think we are about ~100 people on the ship. The food is fantastic (lots of options), and the ship is equipped with a gym and movie room.

I am sailing as a sedimentologist on this expedition, which means I will be inspecting, characterizing, and describing all the cores that we collect. As I mentioned, we are eager to start seeing cores and getting a glimpse of what we will be working for the coming few years! I will try and update this spot periodically with our progress. Wish us luck!