Program Update: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program – June 2011
Filed under: Discovery,News & Resources,Program Updates,Program Updates - Integrated Ocean Drilling Program,Scientific Ocean Drilling
During the month of June, the JOIDES Resolution remained docked in Curacao after transit through the Panama Canal. It will remain in tie-up until September 16, 2011, when it will depart for Expedition 336: Mid-Atlantic Microbiology offshore Bridgetown, Barbados. The Mid-Atlantic Microbiology (also known as the ‘North Pond’) expedition will be led by co-chiefs Katrina Edwards (Texas A&M University) and Wolfgang Bach (University of Bremen), with the goal of investigating the microbial communities of an isolated sediment pond (the ‘North Pond’) and the basement community of a young ridge flank. The expedition will place three CORKs (Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kits – subseafloor observatories) in the ocean floor, allowing scientists to undertake long-term microbiological, biogeochemical, and hydrological experiments. To review the JOIDES expedition schedule, visit http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/.
Also this month, repairs were completed on the Japanese deep sea drilling vessel Chikyu, which was damaged during the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. At the time of the earthquake, Chikyu was in port at Hachinohe, and was buffeted by tsunami waves, causing severe damage to one of its azimuth thrusters. The Chikyu spent the months of April and June in dry dock at the Yokohoma Dockyard, and although the thruster could not be salvaged, repairs to restore functionality were completed on June 18, 2011. A new thruster is being manufactured and will be installed by the end of March 2012. For regular updates on the status of the Chikyu, please visit http://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/news/.
