Tuesday – November 3, 2009 – The Mission Begins
Student Argonaut Karina Jougla


For the JASON Argos and crew, our day began bright and early at 6:30 am. We ventured on to begin filming at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). When we walked into the room where we would be shooting, the first thing I noticed was a giant white orb suspended from the ceiling.

An image of the Earth’s surface flickered onto the sphere, and I realized that I was looking at a globe with digital images projected onto the surface. It brought to mind the high-tech holograms of spy movies. Using NOAA’s Science on a Sphere, Dr. Walter Smith showed us several images of the Earth’s surface, highlighting volcanic, seismic, and magnetic phenomena. One of the images showed the world as if the ocean had been drained, exposing the topography of the 70% of our planet that is covered in water. Suddenly, it struck me that geography isn't just about the rocks that make up the continents. The ocean floor isn't just flat and sandy - there are underwater volcanoes, trenches, mountains, canyons….

Dr. Smith explained that our knowledge of the geography of the Earth's crust under the ocean is very vague, incomplete, and misunderstood. For example, what's the tallest mountain on earth? I’ll bet you answered 'Mount Everest.' Actually, if you measure Hawaii's Mauna Kea from its base under the sea to the peak, it stands at a height of 33,476 feet (10,203 meters). It could be argued that we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our own planet. Just imagine the surreal underwater landscapes of the ocean that has never before been known to humans.

From OMSI, we drove south from Portland to Corvallis, the home of Oregon State University (OSU). Along the way, we performed a driving transect, recording our observations of geographic features that we could see from the car and identifying them by looking at the contour lines on topographic maps. When we arrived at OSU, we met with Dr. Ann Trehu and Dr. Chris Goldfinger, who are specialists on the past, present and future of tectonic plate movements in the Cascade Mountain Range, which extends from Northern California up into Canada. Behind the scenes, the Argos were racing against the sun to finish filming for the day. Our six days of footage will be condensed into a few edited hours for all of our viewers. Sometimes it feels like being on a reality show, just slightly less dramatic (geology can be pretty dramatic, too.) Our camera and production crew is just as much a part of the JASON team as the Argonauts are, and tomorrow we will continue on our quest to unravel the mysteries of Earth.

Argo Karina standing in front of NOAA's Science on a Sphere at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry	At OSU with Dr. Chris Goldfinger. We are examining a core sample that gives evidence of earthquakes over thousands of years.
Uncovering the deep trenches and tall mountains on our oceans.	At OMSI with the Argos and Dr. Smith, using a wave tank to learn how the layers of the Earth can form.
Talking with Dr. Anne Trehu about the local geology at OSU.	With Blair Baldwin from OMSI, standing in front of models of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens.