Erasure poems are created by removing words from a text until what remains forms a poem. The following erasure poems have been beautifully created from an oceanographic textbook and presented in an artistic format. This poem speaks to how researchers, such as Pettersson, were able to learn about how ocean currents moved in the past by studying sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock is created by years of accumulation of sediment, organic, and mineral particles on the earth’s surface followed by cementation. From the patterns observed in this type of rock, researchers can determine the speed, direction, and depth of ocean currents that flowed during the formation of the rock. The job of an oceanographer is never done! There is so much about the way the ocean moves, what influences that motion, and the implications on climate and human life that still need to be understood.
This piece is best seen as published below.
About the contributor
After completing her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, Erika Johnson earned a PhD in remote sensing technology, studying turbulence in oceans and rivers.
The original pages
As published in Issue 4: Limitless. Click any page to view it full size.
First published in Issue 4: Limitless, the Innately Science newspaper.