Arctic Ocean Exploration with Bryn Mawr Students & Faculty

Students Onboard

In June and July 2012, Lecturer Lynne Elkins led a student team in conducting geochemical and field research into volcanic activity in the Arctic Ocean. Students Evan Rivers and Kelsey Meisenhelder accompanied Elkins aboard the RV Poseidon for 25 days along the northern Kolbeinsey Ridge and Eggvin Bank spreading region, west of Jan Mayen Island. Together with seven other scientists and the ship’s crew, and using shipboard and autonomous vehicle sonar equipment, they extensively mapped and conducted targeted sampling of this poorly understood volcanic region. Back in the Geochemistry Suite at Bryn Mawr, student Rachel Davis worked with Rivers, Meisenhelder, and Elkins to process volcanic samples from other Arctic locations and begin method development for volcanic trace element analysis using the Department’s ICP-MS instrument.