GET INVOLVED with 'Chasing the Dust' cruise! Activities for Schools:

Q&A Session:

Q? Are there pirates in the high seas? Antonia Stoianova, Karjali, Bulgaria
Answer pending!

Q? To what depths can the Discovery probe the oceans? Elin Pelin School, Pernik, Bulgaria Answer pending!

Q? Would you go again, knowing the discomforts of going at sea? Elin Pelin School, Pernik, Bulgaria Answer pending!

Q? Pupils from 'Elin Pelin' school in Pernik, Bulgaria send the ship their pictures and demand what is the feeling of being in the middle of the ocean, what motivates someone to become an oceanographer?

A: What is the feeling of being in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from land?

It’s an amazing experience when you are in the middle of the ocean. You know that there is no land around you for hundreds of kilometers. In calm seas with good weather I like to have a cup of tea whilst watching the waves, it’s actually very relaxing and you are always hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the more charismatic ocean animals, whales, dolphins, turtles and sharks. Although there is a lot of work to do, and we all miss our family back at home, we don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it and any communication with home is very exciting. It’s when there isn’t a lot of work to do, for example during bad weather, that you can start thinking about home a lot and then it can be difficult knowing you are miles away from them. Thankfully on this cruise we’ve had nothing but good weather so the time is going by quite quickly.

Mark Stinchcombe on the RRS Discovery

A: What motivated you to become an oceanographers?

I loved watching natural history programmes as a kid, and it was 'Life on Earth' with David Attenborough that really sparked my interest. I was always in the garden collecting animals, or down the beach when on holiday with a net. This curiosity about the natural world continued into school, college and finally university where I studied animals and plants, both land and marine. I found the marine life much more interesting and so concentrated on these subjects. This led me to study at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. When I finished my Masters Degree I was lucky enough to be employed and I am still there.

Mark Stinchcombe on the RRS Discovery

The DISCOVERY Oceanographic Expedition CHASING THE DUST is organised by National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, University of East Anglia, University of Birmingham, University of Essex and Plymouth Marine Laboratories as part of the UK SOLAS Program

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Ivo Grigorov, Diary Editor