Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb uses a massive, underwater hydraulic drill with a diamond-encrusted drill bit to bore into coral. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
The researchers use the drill to remove core samples that provide clues about how the climate has changed over the past 10,000 years. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
The hydraulic drill is very heavy and researchers must battle surging currents to operate the drill underwater. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
A fossil coral rubble field on Christmas Island. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
For her next mission, Cobb (second from right) and her students will return to Borneo where they study cave stalagmites that also hold clues to the Earth’s past climate. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
The researchers also remove core samples from younger corals on land. Data from these corals can tell how the Earth's climate has changed over the past 50 to 100 years. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb (right) and her lab explore the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, to learn about how the Earth's climate has changed over the past 10,000 years. Photo: Kim Cobb.
Georgia Tech:
Kim Cobb, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explores the corals of Christmas Island, an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Kim Cobb.