BLOG 7: Researcher Profile: Karin Orth
Karin Orth, Lecturer in Earth Sciences and Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania
Karin Orth, Lecturer in Earth Sciences and Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania
By Emily Fewster
Name and job title:
Karin Orth, Lecturer in Earth Sciences and Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania
Can you describe what your job involves on RV Investigator?
On this voyage I am the laboratory custodian and also a scientist. This involves helping select the rocks we keep and ensuring the lab where we process the rocks is an efficient, clean and safe work site.
What is your favourite thing about your job as a scientist?
I am mostly interested in volcanoes. They are dynamic and dangerous, plus the sub-terranean volcanoes are still mostly a mystery, hence sampling rocks from seamounts on this voyage is very exciting.
I think this voyage will go down as one of my career highlights of collecting rocks in remote and inaccessible places, along with traveling by helicopter over the Kimberleys and also rafting down the Snowy River for rocks.
Karin Orth works on deck
Karin Orth works on deck
What has been your most memorable experience on this voyage?
On this research voyage I am enjoying seeing the rocks from volcanoes up close and for the first time – it’s pretty cool. I also quite enjoy using the sledge hammer to crack open the big rocks to take a peak inside.
We are lucky enough to have both a mix of undergraduates and scientists at the top of their field on the voyage – we have a lovely team and are working really well together.
What advice would you give to ensure somebody thrives aboard a research vessel?
Don’t get sea sick (I wish), be curious and open to new experiences no matter where you are in your career. Be persistent, collaborate and help each other – it makes for better science.