what to know before we go

The 2050 Science Framework for scientific ocean drilling focuses on how samples from the deep sea will increase our understanding of the connections between Earth systems and address the natural and human-caused environmental challenges facing society. For the joint expeditions of the South Atlantic Transect (EXP 390/393), the co-chief scientists were each asked what one piece of information they would like a person (non-scientist) to know about the upcoming expeditions (this question was posed in May 2021, before sailing the following year). Their responses were captured in a quilt, with each quote surrounded by fabric supporting the statement.

Quilt measures 39 inches tall by 50 inches wide and was completed on January 3, 2022. 

Photo of quilt hanging on a wall, with four panels of text

Quilt with quotes from the co-chief scientists of IODP Expeditions 390 and 393

Upper-lefrt panel of quilt with text, "We're following in the footsteps of explorers form the past"

Quote from EXP 390 co-chief scientist Dr. Rosalind Coggon

Upper-right panel of quilt with text, "The rocks of the ocean crust preserve records of past environmental conditions on our planet"

Quote from EXP 393 co-chief scientist Dr. Damon Teagle

Lower-right left corner text, "Drilling along a systematic transect is a phenomenal opportunity to better understand Earth's history"

Quote from EXP 393 co-chief scientist Dr. Julia Reece

Lower-right corner square of text, "The research is incredibly interdisciplinary"

Quote from EXP 390 co-chief scientist Dr. Jason Sylvan

Full quilt description

(*Note this summary was written in January 2022, before Expedition 390 sailed in 2022)


I’ll be joining IODP Expedition 390 (South Atlantic Transect) as one of the science education/outreach officers in April-June 2022. One of the ways I plan to continue sharing the work from this expedition is through – surprise! – quilting some science stories. I created one pre-expedition quilt already, giving a nod to legacy expedition DSDP Leg 3. I decided to create one additional pre-expedition quilt dedicated to the co-chief scientists of the joint 390/393 sailing Expedition 390 is the first half of a joint project with Expedition 393 (which sailed immediately after 390 to finish collecting samples along the South Atlantic Transect).

Back in May 2021, I attended a live video stream with some of the co-chief scientists for Expeditions 390/393 (archived on YouTube). The session was titled Science in the Time of COVID: Connecting with Exp 395E, South Atlantic Transect and discussed how research and scientific ocean drilling was being managed with the challenges presented by the pandemic. I took the opportunity to ask the co-chief scientists the following question in the chat:

What is one piece of information you would like a person (non-scientist) to know about the upcoming EXP 390/393?

You can hear their responses starting at this timestamp in YouTube, but I also followed up with the co-chief scientists to capture their words – which then I captured on this quilt. The fabrics around each quote connect to the text – and may require you to expand your thinking. For example, around Dr. Julia Reece’s quote, the down arrows represent how drilling is done down at depth. And the fabrics around Dr. Jason Sylvan’s quote show that “interdisciplinary” means across science fields and also scientists from across the globe that sail on the JOIDES Resolution.