Sequential Art

Created onboard the deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 405, this bilingual comic series offers a behind-the-scenes look at life and science at the Japan Trench. As one of the expedition’s Science Outreach Officer, I documented real-time research, shipboard operations, and daily life through illustrated stories. Blending didactic insights with slice-of-life moments, the comics aim to make complex geoscience accessible and the scientists behind it relatable.

Expedition 405, the final expedition carried out by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), was funded by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP), the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), and the Australian and New Zealand International Scientific Drilling Consortium (ANZIC).