First week @USFSP

From the first day that I set foot on to USFSP I have been greeted openly by the members of FIO, my fellow P.M.Ps, and most importantly by our main instructor (Dr.Judkins)  and TA (Monica Cook). These two ladies are always so welling to answer any and every question we have, as  a matter of fact they encourage us to ask as many question as possible even to the researchers that we visited. I can't wait to get back to USFSP and go on the open ocean cruise with Dr.Judkins and have her turn all of us into cephalopod lovers.

Dr.Judkins in the Pink and Monica in the white.

While visiting the researchers and their labs  a few stood out to me, one was the work of Dr..Ethen. His work involved the use of a mass spectrometer and the  identification of elements within the core samples gathered by his "Lunar Lander". Also he began to talk about Orca Basin and how well the soil readings are there due to no bioturbation occurring.

Dr.Ethen showing samples of sediment collected and
 explaining how important Heterogeny , Homogeny, Accuracy, Precision
  

Another lab that stood out to me was that of Thom Gray and his use of a wax model. Thomas explained to us that the wax model when used right shows how fraction zones ,trenches, and the separation of continents could have occurred. He also explained to us the reason why the Pacific Ocean is shrinking and more active than the Atlantic Ocean even though the Pacific is much older. This was due to the subduction of the Pacific Ocean.

Thomas Gray giving  a demonstration of the wax model.