The JR Glossary
Grades 4-12
Study vocabulary for www.thejr.com
WORD LIST
Ship words
Dynamic Positioning System
Forecastle Deck
Drillstring
Galley
Hold Deck
Iron Roughneck
Lab Stack
Main Deck
Poop Deck
Reentry Cone
The Bridge Deck
Thrusters
Tween Deck
Derrick
Moon Pool
Drill String
Fantail
SHIP WORD DEFINITIONS
Dynamic Positioning System
Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer controlled system that automatically keeps a
ship in its position and heading (called “on station”) by using her own propellers and
thrusters.
Forecastle (Foc’sle) Deck
A partial deck above the main deck at the bow.
Drillstring
The drillstring on the JR is a column, or string, of pipes that transmits drilling fluid (via
the mud pumps) and rotational power to the drill bit at the bottom.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1
Galley
The area of the ship where food and meals are prepared and served.
Hold Deck
The very bottom deck of the ship, used for storage.
Iron Roughneck
The piece of equipment that attaches sections of drill pipe to each other, much like a
large, mechanical wrench.
Lab Stack
The multi-floor area of the ship that houses all the scientific laboratories on board the
ship.
Main Deck
The highest deck of the hull, usually but not always the weather deck.
Poop Deck
The poop deck is a partial deck above a ship’s main afterdeck.
Reentry Cone
The Reentry Cone and Casing (RECC) system is a permanent seafloor installation (or
legacy hole) that helps scientists return to and re-enter a particular hole.
The Bridge Deck
The bridge deck area, including the helm and navigation station, is the place from which
the Captain and his mates run the ship.
Thrusters
A thruster is a small propulsive device used by a ship to keep it in a particular position.
Tween Deck
These are smaller storage levels/partial decks within the hold deck.
Derrick
A derrick is a tower that holds the hoisting apparatus for raising and lowering the drilling
apparatus on the ship.
Moon Pool
A moon pool is an opening in the floor of the ship, giving access to the water below,
allowing technicians or researchers to lower tools and instruments into the sea.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1
Fantail
The fantail is an overhang at the extreme rear of the ship. On the JR, it is the same as the
poop deck.
Science Words
Chemistry
Geochemistry
Geology
Geophysics
Geoscientists
Marine Biology
Marine Geophysics
Paleoceanography
Paleoclimatology
Paleomagnetism
Petrology
Petrophysics
Paleontology
Physical Sciences
Sedimentology
SCIENCE WORD DEFINITIONS
Chemistry
Chemistry is a physical science that deals with the composition, structure and properties
of substances and the transformations they undergo.
Geochemistry
The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and
other planets, chemical processes that govern the composition of rocks and soils, and the
cycles of matter and energy that transport Earth's chemical components in time and
space, and their interaction with the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.
Geology
Geology is the science and study of the history of Earth and its life especially as recorded
rocks.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1
Geophysics
Geophysics is the branch of earth science dealing with physical processes and phenomena
the occur on Earth.
Geoscientists
Scientists who study geology, geophysics or geochemistry.
Marine Biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of living organisms in the ocean or other marine or
brackish bodies of water.
Marine Geophysics
Geology that deals with the physics of the ocean, including seismology, volcanology, and
geomagnetism.
Paleoceanography
Paleoceanography is the study of the history of the oceans in the geologic past with
regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology and patterns of sedimentation.
Paleoclimatology
Paleoclimatology is the study of climate change taken on the scale of the entire history of
Earth. It uses records from ice sheets, tree rings, sediment, and rocks to determine what
climate was like in the past.
Paleomagnetism
Paleomagnetism is the study of the record of the Earth's magnetic field preserved in
various magnetic minerals through time.
Petrology
Petrology is the study of rocks and the conditions under which they form.
Petrophysics
Petrophysics is the study of the physical and chemical properties that describe the
occurrence and behavior of rocks, soils and fluids.
Paleontology
Paleontology is the study of prehistoric life.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1
Physical Sciences
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science that explore
non-living systems, in contrast to the biological sciences.
Sedimentology
Sedimentology is the study of sediments such as sand, mud (silt), and clay, and
understanding the processes that deposit them.
OTHER WORDS
Cork
Logging Scientist
Drill Shack
Plimsoll Mark
Survival Suit
Basement Rock
Basalt
Gabbro
OTHER WORD DEFINITIONS
CORK
Stands for Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit. A CORK is a set of scientific instruments
designed to monitor conditions beneath the ocean floor.
Logging Scientist
A person who analyzes data from logging instruments – those lowered down into a
drilling hole to collect measurements of the physical properties of rocks and sediments.
Drill Shack
The drill shack is the room from which drilling operations are controlled.
Plimsoll Mark
A plimsoll mark is a load line or a set of load-line markings on an oceangoing ship —
called also Plimsoll line.
Survival Suit
A survival suit (or more specifically an immersion survival suit), is a special type of
waterproof dry suit that protects the wearer from hypothermia from immersion in cold
water, after abandoning a sinking or capsized vessel.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1
Basement Rock
The rock layers that lie underneath layers of sediments.
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually gray to black and fine-grained
due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of Earth.
Gabbro
Dark igneous rocks formed when liquid magma is trapped under the Earth’s surface and
cools there. Large portions of the oceanic crust are made of gabbros.
Vocabulary study guide
The JR 1108_vocab_1_ver.1