Dredge #6 was back on deck early this morning, at about 8:00. Unfortunately, the dredge did not bring many rocks up with it. So, the few rocks were cleaned and set aside for further observation and Kate found a few small sponges clinging to rocks that she kept for her research. We then started traveling back to the north to gather more data on the sea floor in hopes of finding an excellent dredge site. One of the forms of data we are collecting involves using a magnetometer, which measures the magnetic direction of the volcanic rocks in the seafloor. Peter Barker had observed magnetic anomalies in this area during his previous research in the late 1970s, and our data is confirming his findings. We did have some added entertainment today by celebrating the birthday of Kevin; he is one of our computer experts from UT.
The wonderful cooks baked Kevin a delicious cake for his birthday. We all sang and enjoyed a yummy piece of cake.
**** Excellent job to all my students at Zilker Elementary in Austin, Texas on their science TAKS test today—I am so proud of everybody!! Thanks for your continued hard work—keep it up! **