CHART Workshop 2009: Week 3 Summary
Filed under: CHART Weekly Summaries, Discovery, US Science Support Program
Dear Colleagues,
We are now in the 4th week of the CHART workshop, and many of you have contributed to productive discussions. Some of the discussion boards have posted summaries - please read these and add your comments. Moderators are also posting some new questions for you to consider. If you haven't contributed yet to CHART, now is the time to get involved. The community needs your input.
Regards,
Christina Ravelo
On behalf of the CHART Steering Committee
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CHART Week 3 Highlights:
In the Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics discussion forum, there is continued discussion on drilling oceanic crust in a variety of tectonic settings to truly understand its origin and evolution. And, there are new posts focused on volcanic arc-subduction and seismogenic zones. For example, there is enthusiasm for observatories in the seismogenic zone to address societal impacts (earthquakes, tsunamis, arc volcanoes). Should this be a high priority for the program beyond 2013?
In the Environmental Change, Processes and Effects discussion forum, new discussions centered around cryosphere stability, understanding the timing of tectonic events in relation to climatic events, and reinforcement of the importance of IPCC-relevant science. New questions to consider are: How might scientific ocean drilling approach Earth system responses to abrupt changes OTHER than warming (e.g., impacts, ocean ventilation events, warming and clathrate destabilization)? What processes and dynamics are important for the continental-ocean transfer of nutrient elements?
In the Deep Biosphere and Subseafloor Ocean discussion forum there is discussion about the long-term planning needed for observatories, the need to develop deep biosphere as a field including more effective outreach, and the many important unanswered questions regarding subseafloor fluid flow. Some specific questions posed: How do we decide where is best to put observatories? How does fluid flow evolve as crust ages? What is the relationship between basement permeability, sediment thickness and basement relief in evolution of fluid flow?
In the Emerging Fields and New Directions discussion forum, participants have suggested looking at global scientific drilling opportunities by linking with other drilling-related programs and addressing societally relevant themes like CO2 management, near-future climate, geodynamo, and surface process feedbacks. What are other new research ventures? What are the key questions for these themes?
In the Strategies discussion forum, the Old Proposals/New Proposals section continues to be the most popular, with participants discussing the need to encourage exciting new ideas balanced against important topics featured in highly ranked proposals that have been in the system for a while. In the area of Technical Development and Site Surveys, there was discussion of decoupling survey support from ranking of drilling proposals. On the topic of IODP Planning Structure, there was discussion of coordination for complicated drilling programs because a long period of review can result in contradictions in panel recommendations. A key question for the Strategies discussion is: What specific changes to IODP planning, administration, and operation should be undertaken to help achieve high-priority objectives during the next phase of IODP.
