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In Search of Popping Rocks

WHOI scientists Adam Soule and Mark Kurz prepare to climb into the submersible Alvin for a dive to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge seafloor during the 2016 Popping Rocks expedition aboard the research vessel Atlantis. The researchers used the TowCam, Sentry, and Alvin vehicles to seek samples of volcanic rocks with tiny pockets of gas trapped inside them. Removed from deep-sea pressure and brought to the surface, the gases can escape from the rocks with an audible “pop.” For scientists, those gases provide unparalleled clues into the composition and conditions of the deep Earth, which could help answer longstanding questions about the history and formation of our planet, ocean, and atmosphere. (Photo by Josh Curtice, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)