Into the Core

We close the first season of Into the Core with a guest who has left us with meaningful reflections and valuable lessons. This final episode is both nostalgic and inspiring, offering Early Career Researchers a different perspective on our role not only as scientists, but also as people. This includes your team as a family, the importance of living in the present and the need for work-life balance....

Almost at the end of the season! In the ninth episode of Into the Core , we talk with Simona Pierdominici, a member of the ICDP Operational Support Group hosted at GFZ in Germany. She is an expert in borehole logging and has participated in several projects of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). In this episode, our team asks Simona about her field experiences and her...

In the eighth episode of Into the Core , we talk with Arne Ulfers, a researcher at the LIAG – Institute for Applied Geophysics in Germany. He is an expert in borehole logging, with experience in several projects of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). In this episode, Arne explains how these techniques help us identify and characterize the sediments and rocks beneath a...

The Into the Core team returns once again to the IPA-IAL conference in Aix-les-Bains for this seventh episode, where we sit down with Maarten Van Daele. In this episode, we explore how sediments can be key to understanding past events such as paleotsunamis and paleoearthquakes. We also talk about Maarten’s experience during the ICDP Lake Challa drilling campaign and share some memorable field stor...

We kick off the second half of the first season of Into the Core with this sixth episode, featuring Jonathan Obrist-Farner. In this conversation, our team explores Jonathan’s unique journey — from his early studies in psychology to his transition into geosciences, a path that has led him to propose his first ICDP project. The episode also includes a heartfelt tribute to Andy Cohen, whose legacy we...

The Into the Core team continues recording in Aix-les-Bains, interviewing scientists involved in ICDP projects. In this fifth episode, Daniel Ariztegui shares stories and lessons from his years of experience in scientific drilling — including the time he had to meet with royalty to request permission to drill, only to be told: “Do not touch the lake water.” Curious how they managed to solve it? Jo...

We continue recording from IPA-IAL 2025 in Aix-les-Bains for the fourth episode of Into the Core . This time, we are joined by Liseth Pérez Alvarado, a senior scientist originally from Guatemala and currently based in Kiel, Germany. Liseth investigates the clues that ostracods — small crustaceans living in the water column — leave behind in lacustrine and marine sediments. She has been involved in...

In this third episode of Into the Core , the team records live from the IPA-IAL 2025 conference in Aix-les-Bains, France, where we ask scientists to share their funniest field stories. Our first guest at the conference comes all the way from Spain: Blas Valero, researcher at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología in Zaragoza. A sedimentologist, paleoclimatologist, and passionate science communicator,...

In the second episode of Into the Core , we are joined by someone very special — the driving force behind this podcast and a scientist pushing the boundaries of proxy development in paleolimnology. Dr. Marta Marchegiano, researcher at the University of Granada, shares unforgettable moments from the field, including a "malediction" on a lake which produced an unexpected explosion during a...

To kick off this podcast, we have a very special guest. Professor Dr. Mark Brenner is a researcher with many years of experience in paleoclimatology and paleolimnology, and is involved in various ICDP projects. While many of us know him for his career, in this episode, we will delve into his experiences in the field, in science, and hear about his learnings in a long academic life. Hosts: Rodrigo...

Welcome to Into the Core , a podcast by the Early Career Researchers Network of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). Throughout its first season, we talk with ten extraordinary scientists involved in ICDP projects who share funny stories from the field, as well as the lessons and experiences that have shaped their scientific careers. Would you join us?