This haul pictured here was mainly picritic rock rich in olivine crystals. Once we have divided the samples into different categories we make detailed notes on them which we then entered into a database. When volcanic glass is present in a sample we chip some off and place it in a seperate bag. It is the glass that will provide the most information about the nature of the magmatic regime the lavas came from. A pillow basalt.
Some dredges come up with intact pillow lavas.
This pillow is turned on its side and the geological hammer gives an indication of its size. As the end of the cruise draws near we have begun to collect the transponders that we placed on the seafloor. The transponders are buoyant but are kept on the seafloor by a cable weight. A command sent to a transponder activates an electric current which breaks a clip that is attached to the cable weight. Free of the weight, the transponder floats to the surface.