CHART Workshop 2009: Week 2 Summary

The online CHART workshop has reached the halfway point.  The discussion so far has been fruitful with over one hundred posts, but we still need your help.  The majority of comments have come from a few scientists; we need to expand the dialog to include a greater range of ideas and to demonstrate the strength of the U.S. community interest in IODP.  Here is a sampling of some questions that you could help to answer:

• There is an on-going discussion about developing a sub-seafloor microbial observatory.  What is needed to do this?  Should this be a major effort in the next phase of IODP?
• Thus far, most of the comments in the Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics forum were focused on ocean crust formation and drilling to the MOHO.  Should IODP make a commitment to this endeavor?  What are other high priority research goals in the Solid Earth theme?
• One interesting line of discussion is about aligning IODP goals with those of the IPCC to enhance predictability of the future climate change.  What are the specific scientific questions that are relevant to the IPCC that can be answered with ocean drilling?
• Participants have identified several emerging fields and potential new directions for IODP including focused efforts to explore polar environments, decipher the geodynamo, and understand the impacts of ocean acidification.  How can ocean drilling advance these fields of research? Are there others?

The CHART moderators will be posting summaries and new questions periodically. Please look for these summaries.  We look forward to hearing about your ideas.

Best regards,
Christina Ravelo
on behalf of the CHART steering committee

Related Posts:

• CHART Workshop 2009: Week 4 Summary
• CHART Workshop 2009: Week 1 Summary
• CHART Workshop 2009: Week 5 Summary
• Science Support for IODP: Updates that Affect U.S. Scientists
• IODP New Ventures in Exploring Scientific Targets (INVEST): September 23-25, 2009