Program Update: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program – March 2010
Filed under: Discovery,News & Resources,Program Updates - Integrated Ocean Drilling Program,Scientific Ocean Drilling
(Click to enlarge image) Greatship Maya. (Credit: Bluestone Offshore Pte Ltd.)
The month of March marked the end of the successful Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 318 Wilkes Land Glacial History to Antarctica onboard the JOIDES Resolution.
The science party drilled seven sites near the Antarctic coast to recover a total of 3,200 meters of sedimentary core which will be used to examine the behavior of ice sheets in Antarctica over the last 53 million years. The expedition ended in Hobart, Australia, where approximately 150 people toured the vessel and members of the press attended a media conference featuring a presentation by the Australian Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr. The JOIDES Resolution is currently en route to Victoria, Canada.
While the JOIDES Resolution is in transit, the mission-specific drilling platform Greatship Maya has been battling weather during operations for IODP Expedition 325 to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Despite challenging conditions, the expedition has recovered cores containing a variety of coral framestones, carbonate sands, and coral fragments which will be used to examine sea-level changes during the last deglaciation. The expedition is organized by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and eight U.S. scientists are on board. To learn more about the expedition and read daily reports, please visit http://www.eso.ecord.org/expeditions/325/325.php.
Plans are underway for future IODP expeditions in 2011. IODP is soliciting applications to sail for three upcoming expeditions: Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project, Superfast Spreading Rate Crust 4, and Mid-Atlantic Ridge Microbiology. U.S.-affiliated scientists interested in participating in these expeditions should apply to sail through the U.S. Science Support Program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership by May 15, 2010. For more information and to apply, please visit http://www.oceanleadership.org/usssp/participation.
To learn more about the accomplishments of past IODP expeditions, consider hosting an Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer. The Distinguished Lecturer Series is designed to bring the exciting scientific results and discoveries of IODP to academic research institutions, museums, and aquaria. Currently, we are soliciting applications to host a Distinguished Lecturer during the 2010-2011 academic year. This year’s lectures span a broad range of topics in the earth sciences including the Chicxulub meteor impact, subseafloor hydrogeology, hotspots, and paleoclimatic change. To host a lecturer, apply online at http://www.oceanleadership.org/dls. Applications are due June 1, 2010.
