JASON Project's Beginnings (back)

Dr. Robert Ballard, the scientist who discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1986, created the JASON Project as a means to connect science students with scientists in the field. The first JASON Project expedition was in 1989 when a team of scientists explored the hydrothermal vents in the Mediterranean Sea. Since 1989, there have been 13 Expeditions.

 

Past Expeditions

JASON XIII: Frozen Worlds: The Arctic, Antarctic, and Subarctic Regions

Frozen Worlds will take you to some of the coldest and most remote areas of the Earth -- the regions around the North and South Poles. There, JASON students studied themes of adaptation and change, and our three main research questions: What are the dynamic systems of the Earth and space?
How do these systems affect life on Earth?
What technologies do we use to study these systems, and why?

 

JASON XII: Hawai`i: A Living Laboratory

In January and February, 2001, JASON XII focused on Hawai`i's awe-inspiring volcanoes, its unique terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and its rich cultural history. JASON XII explored this group of isolated islands, shaped by 30 million years of volcanism, which offer one of the best representations of Earth's geologic and biologic forces. We will also traced the migration paths of the diverse peoples who settled these islands, and explored the fascinating cultural tapestry that is modern Hawai'i.

Online Expedition: Humpack Whales
Why do whales sing? In March of 2001 this online-only expedition took JASON off of the shores of Maui with a team of scientists sponsored by National Geographic to study the relationship between humpback whale singing and the whales' social interactions. Re-live the experience through the team's journals, photos, video, audio and chat archives.

Online Expedition: Hawai`i's Mountain Streams
In April of 2001 the JASON Project and the Earthwatch Institute headed into the mountain streams of Maui with Dr. Eric Benbow, his team of researchers, and a group of teacher and student Argonauts. Follow along with each step in the experimental process as they track the movement of limpets through the streams. Their work adds to a larger effort to understand the islands' fragile ecosystems and will eventually help the people of Hawai`i protect and manage their most precious resource: water.

JASON XI: Going To Extremes
JASON XI: Going to Extremes looks at sea and space through the eyes of modern-day explorers. We compare NOAA's Aquarius Underwater Laboratory in the Florida Keys and NASA's International Space Station as research platforms that enable humans to go beyond their physical limitations to explore the unknown.

JASON X: Rainforests — A Wet & Wild Adventure
Relive the 10th Anniversary of the JASON Project and our comparative study of temperate, tropical, and fossil rainforests. First, travel back 63 million years with us as we excavate an ancient rainforest site in Colorado. Then explore the lush temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. Finally, journey to the site of our live April 1999 expedition, deep within the tropical rainforests of Peru.

JASON IX: Oceans of Earth and Beyond
JASON IX followed a team of modern day researchers at three locations — Monterey Bay, Bermuda, and Guaymas Basin — for a study of the structures of life found in shallow, mid-water, and deep ocean environments.

JASON VIII: Journey from the Center of the Earth
In April and May, 1997, JASON Project VIII focused on gushing geysers, frozen glaciers, boiling mudpots and volcanic activity as students explored two of the most exotic locations on the planet, Iceland and Yellowstone. Both are situated directly above geothermal "hot spots" - areas in the earth's upper mantle where rocks from the lower mantle move upward and melt, forming magma.

JASON VII: Adapting to a Changing Sea
During two expeditions to the Florida Keys in January and April 1996, JASON VII explored how life adapts to a changing sea. Scientists examined climate changes affecting coral reefs, sharks sensing water both shallow and deep, and the biomechanics and behavior of crocodiles. The team utilized such tools as the Navy's NR-1 nuclear submarine and a unique underwater habitat known as the Aquarius.

JASON VI: Island Earth
In February 1995, JASON VI focused on the Big Island of Hawai`i. The team witnessed the largest surface lava flow in that area for 25 years, looked for evidence of volcanic activity elsewhere in the solar system through NASA's infrared telescope, and studied the unique biology of Hawai`i.

JASON V: Planet Earth
In February 1994, JASON V travelled to the Central American country of Belize to study the health of our planet and the effect people have on it. Scientists explored life in the canopy of a rain forest and the Western Hemisphere's largest barrier reef. Using computer modelling, they also mapped a cave system and an ancient Mayan city.

JASON IV: Baja California Sur
In March 1993, the JASON team went to two sites along Mexico's Baja California Penninsula. We examined tubeworms and other organisms living off hydrothermal vents in the Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez, and studied migrating gray whales in the Pacific Coast's San Ignacio Lagoon.

JASON III: The Galapagos Islands
In December 1991, the JASON team followed in the footsteps of Charles Darwin to explore several land and marine sites and examine animals, bird and marine species that are found nowhere else on earth.

JASON II: The Great Lakes
In May 1990, the team of JASON II undertook a comprehensive examination of two War of 1812 schooners on the bottom of Lake Ontario. For the first time, students were able to drive JASON, the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) via two-way stellite link.

JASON I: The Mediterranean Sea
In May 1989, the JASON Project discovered the first hydrothermal vents in the Mediterranean Sea, examined an ancient Roman shipwreck and retrieved artifacts from under 2,100 feet of water.

(back)