Expedition 7 Hot Topics

Hotspots & Cool Volcanoes: The New England Seamounts
If you drained the water from the ocean basins, some of the most dramatic features you would see are groups or lines of underwater volcanoes called "seamounts." Learn more »

Deep-Sea Corals
When most people think of corals, they think big. Big, interconnected structures such as the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, which can be seen from the Space Shuttle. Expedition 7, however, is going after much smaller coral formations that lie deep within the ocean, past the point where light penetrates. Learn more »

Dating corals, knowing the ocean
Coral skeletons record the age of the coral, as well as the age of the water in which they grow. Using radioactive decay dating techniques on fossil, scientists can tease this information apart. Learn more »

Going vertical: Gauging ocean overturn rates
Water in the ocean has different ages at different depths. Scientists can determine these ages, and find out how long water takes to circulate through the entire ocean and then come back to the surface. Learn more »

[Back to top]