1)  Date major "Icehouse" (Oligocene–Recent) sequences, a period of known glacioeustatic change, and compare ages of the unconformable surfaces bracketing these sequences with ages of sea-level lowerings predicted from the d¹⁸O glacioeustatic proxy.
2)   Estimate the amplitudes, rates, and mechanisms of sea level change.
3)  Evaluate sequence stratigraphic facies models (e.g., systems tracts) that predict depositional environments, sediment compositions, and stratal geometries in response to sea level changes.
4)  Provide a baseline for future IODP drilling that will address the effects and timing of sea level changes on other passive margins.

The New Jersey Margin is an ideal location in which to investigate the history of sea level change and its relationship to sequence stratigraphy because it features:
·     Rapid depositional rates;
·    Tectonic stability;
·     Well-preserved, cosmopolitan fossils suitable for age control that characterize the sediments of this margin throughout the interval of interest;
·    A large set of seismic, well-log, and borehole data with which to frame the general objectives and choose appropriate drill sites.

 The onshore science party will be held at the IODP Bremen Core Repository and Laboratories at Bremen University, Germany. The onshore party is tentatively scheduled to start in late 2006, after Sept. 30, 2006. The onshore party forms the true science party with all IODP privileges and obligations (see IODP web site at http://www.iodp.org/program-policies). Once the drilling platform has been contracted and the cruise dates set, a start date for the Onshore Party will be defined. The duration of the Onshore Party then depends on the amount of core to be processed, and may exceed one month. Note: Dates related to Mission Specific Platform expeditions may vary significantly from those indicated here.

Science Party members are required to attend the duration of the onshore party. Scientists applying for this expedition’s Science Party will therefore need to be flexible. Selected scientists unable to fulfill the attendance requirement will forfeit their membership in the Science Party and will be replaced.

The offshore portion of the expedition is tentatively scheduled to take place some time during May to Sept. 2006, and will likely last up to three months. Only a limited number of the Science Party will be able to participate offshore, although there may be staff rotation during this extended period. Again, flexibility regarding the timing of the work is a requirement for offshore participation.