Next summer offers a change of pace.
Instead of enduring snow and freezing rain, the University of Rochester geophysicist will lead an ocean cruise to the Pacific Ocean, tracking the geological feature that gave birth to the Hawaiian Islands. This week Tarduno and Robert Duncan of Oregon State University met to complete the planning for the voyage, selecting staff, choosing which areas to visit, and deciding which experiments to conduct. More than 100 scientists, engineers, and crew members from around the world will take part. The entire mission revolves around some very fancy rock collecting. The ship is equipped with a giant drill pipe that is lowered to the ocean floor, usually a mile or more below the water surface.