Joris Gieskes' lab joined the Alaska expedition
from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and explored
the chemistry of the ocean water and sediment.

As a geochemist Joris examines the chemical composition and chemical processes of marine waters under and above the sediment/water interface. Joris is officially a Professor of Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

After finishing high school and technical school in Holland, Joris traveled to South Africa for his nighttime undergraduate studies and at the same time practiced limnology during the daytime, the study of lake and rivers. Next he went to the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada for his Masters and Ph.D. in pure physical chemistry. After he received his Ph.D. he moved once again, this time to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where he was a post-doc. From WHOI he traveled to Germany to be an assistant scientist. Finally, in 1968 he came back to the United States to become a professor at Scripps where he has happily remained. While at WHOI Joris applied his background in physical chemistry to oceanographic research, which began his shift in research focus from pure physical chemistry to marine geochemistry. At Scripps in 1970 Joris was able to join leg 15 of the Deep-Sea Drilling Project.

Recently, Joris has become interested in investigating the chemical changes in pore fluids associated with methane seeps. On the topic of methane seeps he has collaborated with Lisa Levin and other researchers from Scripps. Hence the Alaska expedition on which Joris' lab provided the chemical analysis of the site, which Lisa Levin then used to investigate the fauna of the site.

Joris advises all students, not only those scientifically bent, that, "nature is sufficiently complex that a good solid background in the sciences is necessary". He recommends a broad foundation in the basic sciences such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics in order to be able to have fun - fun to Joris is solving mysteries in earth science. Science is Joris life's work and is his main hobby. He has always considered it fun, which makes the work easy. Being a professor has allowed him great freedom to work on what he wishes and pursue it to completion.

Chris describes himself as a chemical oceanographer. What is a chemical oceanographer you might wonder? Someone who studies the chemistry of the ocean water, sediment, and water in the sediment. On the Alaska expedition Chris examined and compared the chemistry of the water in sediment cores from several different areas. This analysis was then used by the biologists to see if there are any patterns between the types of organisms in an area and the chemistry. In addition to the Alaska project he is working on two other projects, a pollution study of copper and zinc with the Navy and his thesis research, which is a study of rare earth elements in pore fluids. Chris is in the middle of his fourth year as a graduate student. The time remaining to his graduate career depends on how fast he can collect data for his dissertation work. Research expeditions like Alaska are key times for collecting such samples.

Chris was an undergraduate at UCSD in Earth Science. Coming in to college he knew that he was interested in science. Chris got hooked on Earth Science because he could apply the "hard core" science he had learned to the real world. All those chemistry formulas you think you will never use again - Chris found he needed them. He was able to experiment with different areas of study to find what interested him by working at Scripps in Joris Gieskes lab, during his undergrad days. At the end of his undergraduate career Chris knew that to continue doing what he enjoyed doing, he needed to pursue a graduate degree. So, Chris became a graduate student at Scripps. He considers himself lucky that he knew what his interests were coming in and was able to settle happily as a graduate student in Joris Gieskes lab.

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