Program Update: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program – February 2011
Filed under: Discovery,News & Resources,Program Updates,Program Updates - Integrated Ocean Drilling Program,Scientific Ocean Drilling
February was full of IODP-related events for both the US Implementing Organization (USIO) and the US Science Support Program (USSSP). In early February, the JOIDES Resolution concluded the successful Louisville Seamount Trail Expedition, ending in Auckland, New Zealand. The expedition drilled 1,113 meters into the seafloor to recover 806 meters of mostly pristine volcanic rocks, making it one of the most successful research expeditions ever to recover this type of rock from the Earth’s oceanic crust. The samples were collected from six sites at five seamounts varying in age from 50 to 80 million years old and will be analyzed to define the eruption history of the Louisville volcanoes and to determine whether or not hotspots remain stationary over time.
In Washington DC, IODP was featured in several sessions and events at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which was held from February 18-21. This year’s meeting theme – Science Without Borders – showcased successful international collaborations like IODP that take multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving with a global suite of investigators. Scientists and staff working with IODP discussed their research and experiences with the program in three sessions and during a ship-to-shore video conference as part of AAAS’s Family Science Days
Finally, the new draft of the science plan for the post-2013 program is now available online. Based on input from the CHART Workshop and INVEST Conference, this community-produced science plan calls for an internationally-funded scientific ocean drilling program lasting 10 years. It highlights four main theses, each encompassing a number of high-priority scientific challenges. To download the plan and learn more, visit http://www.iodp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=550&Itemid=1202.
