Under the Pacific Ocean, ancient sediments reveal the history of the Earth

Drill cores obtained in the course of international scientific drilling programs trace the Earth's climatic past. The Pacific Ocean, the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth, plays a central role in the global carbon cycle. Yet despite its enormous influence, much of what researchers know about the tropical Pacific's geologic past comes from only a handful of more or less continuous sediment core records obtained over the past five decades.

“It's easy to forget that two-thirds of our planet is covered with salty seawater, especially if you don't live near the coast,” says co-author Dr. Thomas Westerhold from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen. “The Pacific is not only by far the largest and therefore most climate-relevant ocean, but also the least explored.”

Therefore, the international scientific drilling community organized a workshop in October 2024 to priorities research questions that could be most effectively answered by studying ancient sediments from the Pacific Ocean seafloor. In the article, they summarize the workshop's outcomes. They point out that coordinated international and interdisciplinary efforts are required to advance and expand research in the Pacific Ocean