CORE DATING IN NEW ZEALAND
By Jay Erickson
This morning is
another typical winter’s morning at the Orcas hotel located near the
Orcas Island ferry landing, in Washington State. With people bustling,
they order an early morning cup of coffee and pastry before loading
onto the first ferry for the island or red eye as the locals call it.
As the ferry pulls away, the winter's day calm is restored and I have a
chance to enjoy the scenery and a cup of coffee. Sitting next to me is
Eric, a long time island resident. Eric stands about six foot tall with
light brown hair neatly cut and a front cowlick that arches to the
left. Eric has aged well, looking ten to twelve years younger than his
fifty-two years. Eric has a relaxed demeanor and directs an occasional
deep stare toward the horizon, the type of stare a person acquires when
living in desolate parts of the world or being at sea for long periods
of time. I hadn'’t seen Eric around the islands lately but I had heard
stories about his leaving to work as a cook in places such as
Antarctica, at a science research station and Siberia, along the
Kamchatka Peninsula on the eastern coast of Russia during winter on a
fisheries supply cargo ship. I was curious to find out, so I asked him.
"Eric, where have you been working lately?"
Eric took a sip
of coffee and looked out the window toward the ferry landing while
wiping his mustache with a napkin as if to gather his thoughts. "I'’ve
been cooking on the research vessel Roger Revelle.
The ship, crew and science party have been off the coast of the North
Island of New Zealand doing some fascinating studies that will help
them understand the climate changes thousand of years ago."
Eric began to
explain. “The chief scientist, Dr. Liz Sikes, from Rutgers University
and her crew of scientists with graduate students from New Zealand and
the USA, relies on a crew of technicians to work a device called a
piston corer, to collect a twenty foot long core sample of mud from the
ocean floor. Some samples are from depths of eight thousand feet."
As Eric
describes the piston corer to me I imagine a long ballpoint pen with a
large eraser or weight at the top. When on the ocean floor suspended by
a cable, the piston inside the pen would be drawn up creating a vacuum,
similar to when someone drinks an extra thick milk shake. Fingers, the
like of daisy petals pointing back inside the tube keeps the mud from
spilling out when the samples get pulled to the surface.
The results are
a core sample that, when sliced in half long wise and viewed by an
expert's eye, can divulge the past record of climate change.
From the array
of layers, some dark blue-gray, typically the sediment from
zooplankton, to the gritty, lighter in color, sand like layers
consisting of volcanic ash from terrestrial eruptions. Undersea
eruptions show as sooty black sand streaks. Dr. Sikes takes samples of
the creature deposits on both sides of the ash. Dr. Sikes told Eric
that the calcium carbonate from the shells of the zooplankton could be
carbon dated. Carbon 13 will reveal past temperature and carbon 14 will
date the material.
Dating the
beginning and the end of the ash sediment is important because the
scientist can then find out how long a particular eruption took to
settle. This information tells them how slow or fast the oceans were
moving during that period.
A slower moving
ocean will hold more carbon dioxide to be exchanged into the
atmosphere. The bottom layer of ash from this core was estimated at
twenty thousand years.
"Eric, it sounds As if you are part of the science party."
"No I spent plenty of time in the galley cooking for all forty-five people on board," Eric chuckled.
"Any favorite menu items you can tell me about, Eric?" I asked.
Eric's food
descriptions made me hungry, just listening how Eric prepared a short
bill swordfish the crew had caught on the ship. Marinating the fillets
in lemon grass, Thai curry and coconut milk and after grilling the
fillet gets garnished on top with a fresh mango salsa. To complement
the meal and offer an additional meal choice for those people that may
not eat fish, Eric served pork tenderloin marinated in hoi sin sauce.
Both dishes were cooked on the barbeque and served with rice cooked
with coconut milk. A chocolate cookie offered with New Zealand ice
cream was the final entry.
We noticed that familiar bustling around us as a ferry was about to dock.
Eric gets up and said, "Here'’s my ferry."
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I'’m flying to Cape Town, South Africa to crew up on the Revelle. We will be doing physical ocean studies on runaway currents that travel around Cape Horn."
Eric's last remarks while going out the door to catch the ferry were "New Places, new spices."
"Eric, have a
safe trip and may the wind be to your back. And I will be looking
forward to having coffee with you with your return."
Eric's Recipes:
Hot cereal bread
Thai marinated fish
Mango Salsa
Hoi sin Pork Tenderloin
Broccoli and bok choy
Coconut rice
Chocolate chip cookie
Measurements are from repetition and memory. Climate and mood may affect the outcome…
HOT CEREAL BREAD:
Two cups cooked oatmeal or cream of wheat hot cereal
Three cups water
¼ cup sugar
Three tablespoons dry yeast
Add above ingredients together and let ferment 4-5 hours or while you
are at work.
In a large bowl finish the dough by adding:
Four ounces olive oil
5 pounds unbleached white flour
Two tablespoons salt
Kneed for 5-8 minutes
Dough should be soft but holds it shape. Adjust flour as needed.
Proof for half an hour too three hours.
Shape into four loaves and let rise until double in size.
Bake in a 450-degree oven with a pie tin of water on the bottom shelf
for humidity.
30-45 minutes
THAI MARINATED FISH:
5 pounds swordfish
4 tablespoons red Thai curry
3 tablespoons fine chopped lemon grass
3 tablespoons minced garlic
10 ounces coconut milk unsweetened
Marinate fish for at least 5 hours or over night
Cook on barbeque or pan fry until flesh turns opaque.
Garnish with mango salsa.
MANGO SALSA:
One mango, diced small
¼ cup red onion, diced fine
Two tablespoons ginger root, minced
One-tablespoon garlic, minced
One Serrano chili, minced
Two tablespoons cilantro, chopped
One-ounce rice vinegar
Zest and juice of one lime
Pinch of salt
PORK TENDERLOIN MARINADE:
Four ounces hoi sin sauce
Three tablespoons ginger root, minced
Three tablespoons garlic, minced
Four ounces soy sauce
COCONUT RICE:
Four cups long grain rice washed three times
1-16 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
Place rice in a two-quart saucepan or bigger that has a tight fitting lid.
Wash and drain water three times.
Add coconut milk and add enough water to cover rice one inch.
Cook on medium high heat, uncovered until rice level is above liquid.
Turn heat to low and put on lid for five - ten minutes.
Stir and turn off heat and let sit another five-ten minutes.
BROCCOLI AND BOK CHOY
Three cups broccoli florets
Three cups bok choy ¾ inch diagonal slices
One cup sliced leek
Two tablespoons coarse chopped garlic
One Serrano chili diced fine
One-ounce soy sauce
One-tablespoon sesame seed oil
One-tablespoon peanut oil
In a hot wok or sauté pan add the oils, leeks, chili, garlic, and broccoli.
Cook a couple of minutes and add the bok choy, then cook a minute longer
and add the soy sauce.
I prefer not to overcook the vegetables.
Serve
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Two pounds butter
One-pound brown sugar
Two cups white sugar
Five eggs
Two tablespoons vanilla extract
Six cups white flour
Two pounds chocolate chips or broken chocolate bits
One-tablespoon baking soda
Two-teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Have all the ingredients at room temperature.
Beat the butter until light, add both sugars and continue beating until
light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time.
Add vanilla extract. Mix well
In a separate bowl place dry ingredients and mix with a hand whip until
thoroughly blended.
Add flour mix and chocolate pieces and mix just until moistened. Over
mixing at this point will create tough cookies.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-12 minutes