Indonesia

Well, here the journey comes to an end as I visit Indonesia, the location of Krakatoa and Anak Krakatau, one of the most famous eruptions of all time. 

This is located on a convergent boundary.  The ocean-ocean subduction between the two plates causes volcanoes and mountains to form when one plate goes beneath another, and causes them to erupt through the overriding plates, and here especially, the volcanic activity is high. 

I managed to salvage a bit of the original volcano, Krakatoa, which blew itself to bits when it erupted. This is a rare find in one of the antique stores in the nearby mainland, so I’m lucky to have it. My name is Delmond Conagher, and thanks for following me on my journey of discovery. Now back to work on my machines.

California

Welcome to good ol’ California, the home of famous San Francisco and the San Andreas Fault.

This is the next step in my tectonic study as I come to San Francisco because San Francisco is known for its earthquake history. Here at the transform boundary between the Pacific and North American plates lies the San Andreas Fault. The Pacific plate moves one direction, and the North American plate moves in the opposite direction, moving apart at a rate of 5 cm a year. This is what causes those notorious earthquakes. 

From California, I picked up a vintage, limited-edition crate filled with Jelly Belly jelly beans. Who’s in?

Iceland

Wow, what a beautiful place Iceland is! I am currently staying in Hotel Borg in Reykjavik, Iceland’s magnificent capital. I came to Iceland because it sat right on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a perfect example of a divergent boundary, one of the types of mechanics I was studying, and here’s what I found out. 

A divergent boundary uses a process known as sea-floor spreading. In a rift in the ocean floor, magma comes up from the crust and cools on the surface of the plate. This rock then cools and slowly moves away on their respective plates.  Seismic activity, though usually small, occur very frequently here in Iceland.  Iceland has a lot of volcanoes due to its location in a very active part of the world. 

I went on my first pirate mission today, in a shop nearby a volcano named Grímsvotn. In the shop, I acquired a necklace made from cooled lava rocks from volcanoes. Cool!

Welcome!

Warning! - The Cake is a lie...
- This is a fictional tour -

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If you are reading this now, who knows where I’ll be. I might be in a Vietnamese prison, your neighborhood Italian restaurant, or even right behind you this very minute. A pirate’s life is a wonderful life. As a scientific pirate, I can see the natural marvels of the planet in complete safety.

My name is Delmond Conagher, and here’s my story. 

I am a scientific pirate, which just means I live a pirate’s life in the name of science, mostly on land, that is. Most people call me Dell, but you can call me Don. I have degrees in mechanical engineering in various colleges across the United States of America, as well as one in my own garage. As you can tell, I like to build things. Building has always been my passion, and it always will be.

So how, you might ask, did you become a scientific pirate who studies tectonics? 

It all happened when I was in the middle of a multi-million dollar project in Los Angeles creating a transportable multi-heal mechanism for the US army. As I was finishing up the final details, an earthquake rocked our city. One of the crucial parts of the system got seriously damaged, requiring time to fix. At the moment, I was infuriated, when one of my coworkers, Mr. Mundy, said that it was all part of the Earth’s natural mechanics. Mechanics? I figured it was time to go see some of these mechanics in the flesh. It would certainly make its mark in the long list of things engineering on my résumé, and I would also get a chance to "pirate" some cool things along the way.