Foraminifer paleontologist Stephan Steinke (University of Bremen, Germany) enters data into the shipboard database while nannofossil paleontologist Claire Routledge (Florida State University, USA) takes a brief break from looking down the microscope. The unique fossil assemblages found in each sample provide a method for the scientists to age-date the sediment and can also give clues to seawater conditions, including temperature and nutrient availability, at the time that these tiny organisms were alive. (Credit: Bill Crawford, IODP JRSO) [Photo ID: exp355_055]