What is your pencil telling you?
Uncover the history as you write.

What is a core?

A core is a sample of the earth's layers obtained by drilling into the crust - along continents and the seafloor. Extracting cores from the seafloor is particularly challenging but offers new opportunities for obtaining deposits containing relatively undisturbed sediments. Seafloor sediments and rocks are immune to many of the erosional forces that scour and redistribute deposits on land, making their records of environmental history and Earth processes unique and exceptional.
(Reference: "One Core At A Time," Earth Scientist Volume XXI, Issue 3 2005)

Who collects cores?

An international partnership of scientists, researchers, and universities, known as the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), was organized to explore the evolution and structure of the earth. Since 1985, the program's research vessel, JOIDES Resolution, has collected cylindrical cores of sediment and rock by lowering instruments into drill holes along the seafloor. By studying the cores, scientists gain a better understanding of Earth's past, present, and future.

What this core tells us...

For a larger image and fun classroom activities,
download a free copy of the Blast from the Past poster here.