GCR CORE School participant, Olabayo, explains his project in the Physical Properties lab. @us-sciod.bsky.social #GCR #NSFfunded #geology

Last week, GCR Curation staff attended the Marine and Lacustrine Geologic Curators meeting at the University of Rhode Island. They connected with other repositories to discuss challenges and best practices in collections management. One meeting highlight was a tour of URI facilities! #GCR #geology

Still time to submit an abstract for #GSAConnects2026! Working with repository cores? Submit to "Revisiting the Archives: New Discoveries from Existing Core Collections." Deadline: Aug. 6 buff.ly/av0odGY Also: Ocean Drilling Data short course: Denver, Oct. 10, before GSA! buff.ly/5z8aWDm

At the GCR’s 2026 CORE School, participants delved into four labs: core description, physical properties, paleomagnetism, and biostratigraphy. Each provides critical pieces of the story we can learn from seafloor cores.

Nice to see another student paper out from IODP Exp379 detailing West Antarctic glacial history from sediment cores. @us-sciod.bsky.social @gcrepository.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

West Antarctic Ice Sheet advance since the early Pliocene - Nature Communications

This study shows that West Antarctic Ice Sheet history in the Amundsen Sea sector since 4.33 million years ago was closely linked to global temperature change, with a major expansion threshold crossin...

nature.com

Happy National Ice Cream Day from Patrick the Safety Penguin! Ice cream was a well-loved treat aboard the JOIDES Resolution, and today we are celebrating one of the sweetest crew favorites. What's your go-to ice cream flavor? 🍦

You can also check out some of the holes‘ cores at the @gcrepository.bsky.social.

U.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling@us-sciod.bsky.social · 4w ago

Did you catch the JOIDES Resolution in last week’s XKCD comic? Check it out! https://xkcd.com/3266/ In addition to IODP Expeditions 307 and 329, try to find DSDP’s Hole 504B, drilled by the Glomar Challenger, and the originating Project Mohole.

Take a look inside the GCR and see how it supports the scientific community through world-class facilities, advanced analytical equipment, and one of the world's largest collections of ocean drilling core samples. Thank you to the TAMU DOR Communications team for putting together this video! #GCR

This week, we welcomed students from across the world for the 2026 OCEAN CORE Academy. The program introduces participants to scientific ocean drilling through work with ocean cores, data analysis, and field experiences, while also exploring careers and connecting with mentors in the field.

Unlocking the Earth's secrets...with X-Ray vision! Introducing the Geotek Rotating X-Ray CT Scanner, the latest in GCR's arsenal of core-scanning instruments. CT Scanning is non-destructive, providing information on the internal structure of cores that are not available upon visual inspection alone.

The GCR hosted Dr. Brandee Carlson and her research group from @uh-earth-atm-sci.bsky.social to assist with splitting and sampling cores from Matagorda Bay, Texas. #ScienceBehindTheScenes #Geomorphology #Sedimentology #GCR #NSFfunded

On Shark Awareness Day, we recognize the vital role sharks play in healthy oceans. Through scientific ocean drilling, researchers study Earth’s history beneath the seafloor to better understand environmental change and protect marine life. #SharkAwarenessDay #ScientificOceanDrilling #GCR #NSFfunded

The Gulf Coast Repository receives and processes hundreds of cores every year, yet the excitement of splitting a new core to reveal what's inside remains the same! In the words of Senior Technician David Houpt, " We are after all, the first human beings to see these sediments!" #GCR #NSFfunded

On World Oceans Day, we celebrate the blue heart of our planet. Oceans regulate climate, support ecosystems, and preserve Earth’s history beneath the seafloor. Through scientific ocean drilling, we uncover stories beneath the waves, helping us understand Earth’s past. #WorldOceansDay #GCR #NSFfunded

Happy National #Dinosaur Day 🦖 from the GCR! The K-Pg boundary event is associated with the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago! Expedition 364 ⛴️ explored the Chicxulub crater ☄️ and discovered the impact it had on the world and our dinosaur friends! #GCR #NSFfunded

Our very first GCR user spotlight features Anuska Pudasaini, a PhD Candidate at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston. Anuska analyzed grain sizes of Antarctic sediments using our Bettersizer S3 Plus Particle Size and Shape Analyzer. #GCR #NSFfunded

🔬 Instrument Spotlight: Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectrometry The ICP-OES nebulizes the sample into a super hot plasma and measures the light emitted by elements to figure out their concentration.

🔬 Instrument Spotlight: Coulometer This measures carbonate concentration in a variety of samples! 🧪 Hydrochloric acid reacts with the sample to release carbon dioxide gas and the coulometer uses an electrochemical reaction to measure how much effort it takes to cancel out the CO2 released.

Have you ever wondered how microbiology samples were taken on the Joides Resolution? Check out @heikezimm.bsky.social on Exp 400 discuss #lablife at sea and how ancient DNA links organisms to changes in sea ice, climate and the ocean. 📽️ Watch Here:

The Ancient Mud

The field of sedimentary ancient DNA, which studies ancient genetic signals preserved in sediments, allows us to reveal ecosystem-wide responses to past environmental changes beyond what has so far…

youtube.com

Do you want to work with scientific ocean drilling samples or data and are unsure where to start? Is the sheer volume of data and reports proving difficult to sift through? Then this post is for YOU! #GCR #NSFfunded #ScientificOceanDrilling

This ODP Leg 139 core comes from a massive sulfide deposit in the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Chemical reactions within the sediments continued years after the core was collected and stored at the GCR, leading to the precipitation of these needle-like crystals. #gcr #scientificoceandrilling #nsffunded

🔬 Instrument Spotlight: Bead Maker We fuse sediment into glass beads for ICP-OES, creating uniform samples for precise elemental + trace metal analysis. No lab equipment? Send us your samples and we’ll handle prep + analysis. #GCR #LabLife #Geochemistry #ICP

The Scientific Ocean Drilling Department (SODCO & GCR) visited the Klein ISD Girls in STEM Day to share microfossils and sediments in the Explore Room! #GCR #NSFfunded

New report! Advancing Future Ocean Drilling in the United States (FOCUS) was a community effort to identify priorities for US SciOD in the first phase of post-IODP drilling, with an emphasis on needs for new expeditions. Read the report at usoceandiscovery.org/focus. Thanks to all who participated!

How can records of the past inform our understanding of extreme events? Join the National Academies on April 29 for a webinar releasing a new report on a proposed Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events (CPREE). Register: events.nationalacademies.org/46602 #ExtremeEvents

Dr. Laya and GEOL 306 stopped by the GCR for their lab last week to take core descriptions of the fossilized corals drilled during IODP Exp 310. These cores provide valuable insights to changes in sea level and SST during the Pleistocene as a result of melting polar ice sheets. 🪸 #GCR #NSFfunded

Teachers and scientists – apply now for TRACX 2026 at the Gulf Coast Repository! Scientists: forms.gle/sSf8yXS9jQCoNDAv6 Teachers (grades 5-12): forms.gle/Kfa1dLHhdpHdd8uE7 More on TRACX: news.climate.columbia.edu/2026/01/15/tracx-program-connects-educators-worldwide-with-ocean-science-research/

Welcome to the GCR! We serve the global scientific community by preserving scientific ocean drilling sub-seafloor samples, facilitating cutting-edge research through access to geologic samples and world class laboratory facilities, and training the next generation of geoscientists. #GCR #NSFfunded