If you want to read the history of the Baltic Sea from the composition of a sediment core you need to know its age. We’ll date the cores with a wide range of instruments on shore and hope to have samples that capture the last 130 thousand years.
But, we’re also trying to get a first idea of the age now. That’s why specialists in micropaleontology and sedimentology look at small samples from every 3 m of core directly. They touch, taste, sieve and wash the samples and study them microscopically in their search for tell tale signs of environmental change.
Low salinity pore waters can be indicative of former lake sediments. This is why pore water salinity is one of the first things the geochemists on board measure.
We also get a lot of information on sediment composition from the geophysical measurements done on whole core sections.
On every shift, there are people responsible for these tasks. Meet some of the night shift team, from right to left: Andrea, Michael, Thorsten, Nadine, Patrizia, Bo, Outi (with Barry’s helmet just visible behind her), Annette, Mary and Caroline (that's me).