The CHART workshop has been extended and will end on March 13th. Last week we had lots of great discussion, but we also want to encourage those of you that haven’t contributed to do so now. If you think ocean drilling is important, please show your support by helping to shape and focus the future of IODP.

The CHART Workshop ends this Friday, March 6th, and there are still many in the community who have not participated. It is not too late to become involved, and we especially encourage you to contribute in this final week.

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.

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.

The current phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) ends in 2013, and planning for the IODP renewal has begun. One important step in this planning is the on-line CHART meeting going on right now, and we need your input. Why should I participate in CHART? The CHART meeting is an important venue for the U.S. community to organize their thoughts about the future scientific priorities of IODP. The actual numbers and diversity of participants will be a measure of U.S. interests. If you want to influence the new science plan and help justify renewal of IODP, now is the time.