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All Rock

June 1, 2012

From an isolated camp (yellow tents, at right), WHOI scientists Mark Kurz (left), Adam Soule, and Andrea Burke explored how the waterless, lifeless, volcanic terrain of Antarctica formed and evolved. In a dispatch about the 2007 expedition, science writer Hugh Powell wrote: “Here’s one reason geologists love Antarctica: It’s all rock. In the detective story for this landscape, no rainstorms, roots, worms, or gophers have moved the evidence, just as no soil, fallen leaves, grass, or wildflowers have covered it up.” See an article and a video about the expedition. The snow-capped volcano in the background is Mount Discovery. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)