Terms of Reference


1. U.S. Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling (USAC) shall act on behalf of the U.S. scientific ocean drilling community to:

  • Formulate scientific and policy recommendations to Consortium for Ocean Leadership (Ocean Leadership) with respect to the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP) associated with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).
  • Assist Ocean Leadership in the development of the USSSP Program Plan that establishes long-term goals and objectives.
  • Assign priorities within the USSSP Program Plan to allocate resources to support U.S. participation in the IODP.
  • Evaluate USSSP accomplishments against Program Plan goals and objectives.
  • Interact with the international IODP Science Advisory Structure (SAS) to promote and facilitate U.S. participation in all aspects of IODP.
  • Stimulate and coordinate wide participation by the U.S. scientific community in IODP.
  • Act as a U.S. advocate for U.S.-wide distribution and access to IODP data and archives.
  • Advocate to decision makers and the public the strategic importance of scientific ocean drilling to the nation’s overall science and education goals.

To foster effective contributions to and interaction with IODP by the U.S. scientific community, USAC shall:

  • Assist Ocean Leadership in nominating U.S. scientists for membership in IODP scientific parties.
  • Provide nominations for U.S. members of the Science Advisory Structure Executive Committee (SASEC) and the Science Planning Committee (SPC) to the Ocean Leadership.
  • Nominate USAC members to the Ocean Leadership, who makes the appointment.
  • Appoint U.S. representatives to all other panels, committees, and groups of the IODP Science Advisory Structure.
  • Promote communications within the SAS (especially among the U.S. representatives) and between SAS, USAC, and the community.
  • On behalf of the U.S. Science Community, consult with Ocean Leadership staff and Board of Trustees, NSF, and IODP-MI and advise Ocean Leadership on issues concerning all aspects of IODP-related programs.  

To foster an effective and productive USSSP, USAC shall:

  • Review and provide advice to Ocean Leadership on the use of USSSP funds.
  • Recommend levels of salary support and post-expedition research funds for U.S. scientific party members.
  • Encourage and facilitate education and outreach efforts by U.S. participants in IODP.
  • Encourage and support syntheses of scientific ocean drilling results at meetings and in publications.
  • Coordinate USAC activities with other large, national science programs (RIDGE2000, MARGINS, etc). 

To promote effective U.S. planning for IODP activities, USAC shall:

  • Promote the development of U.S. proposals to IODP.
  • Promote the planning of collaborative drilling-related science programs, such as seafloor observatories, within the IODP and the U.S. community.
  • Promote, support and disseminate the results of workshops to explore and plan new initiatives and drilling programs.
  • Encourage and provide support for the formation of long-term integrative studies and long-term planning activities, for example, in support of Complex Drilling Projects.
  • Encourage and provide support for innovative drilling-related measurements, experiments, and new technologies.
  • Review the status of regional field studies and site surveys and their effectiveness in developing new drilling programs and sites.

2. USAC shall consist of 12 members including representatives from academic institutions, government, and industry. Ocean Leadership will appoint the members of the USAC based on recommendations from USAC.

  • The USAC shall select a Chair from among its members, who shall serve for a period of two years and may not self-succeed.  Preferably, the Chair will have served as a member of the USAC Executive Committee.
  • The Executive Committee will be composed of the Chair and standing committee chairs.  The Chair may appoint additional members to the Executive Committee as required.  The Executive Committee shall have no less than four members.
  • The Chair may create standing and fixed-term subcommittees as needed.
  • Terms of office of USAC members will be limited to three years and will be staggered so that one-third of the membership is replaced each October.  
  • Immediate reappointment of an individual to USAC will be made only in exceptional circumstances.  A defined exception to the term limit will be the Chair, who may serve up to five years.

3. USAC will generally act by consensus.  If a vote is required, USAC shall act by majority vote of members present at any scheduled meeting, provided a quorum (60% -- 7 of 12 members) is present, or by a majority electronic vote, provided all members are notified of the issue at hand and at least 9 of the 12 members respond.  In the event of a tie, the vote of the chair will not be counted.