ESO Contracts GBREC Platform
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 The ECORD Science Operator (ESO) has signed a contract to lease a mission-specific drilling platform from Bluestone Offshore Pte Ltd., Singapore, to support the Great Barrier Reef Environmental Changes Expedition (GBREC), IODP Exp. 325, scheduled for Oct.-Dec. 2009. The Bluestone Topaz, a dynamically-positioned geotechnical survey vessel, will drill shallow boreholes along the shelf edge of the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Drilling targets include successive reef terraces, relict reefs, and slope sediments along five separate transects that will establish the course of sea-level rise during the last deglaciation and reconstruct seasonal millennial-scale climate variability. Co-chief scientists leading the expedition are Jody Webster of University of Sydney, Australia, and Yusuke Yokoyama of University of Tokyo, Japan.
“ESO is ready for another successful expedition this year,” said Dan Evans, ESO Science Manager. “New Jersey Shallow Shelf is coring right now and we have the Great Barrier Reef to keep the momentum going.”
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NanTroSEIZE Operations Resume
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S tage 2 of NanTroSEIZE drilling operations began with Exp. 319 sailing from Shingu, Japan on May 12. This expedition will prepare boreholes at two sites where future installations of the Long-Term Borehole Monitoring Systems will be introduced. At the first drill site, the accretionary prism in the Kumano Basin (Site NT2-11), riser drilling and casing operations will reach approximately 1,600 meters below the seafloor. LWD/MWD (Logging-While-Drilling/Measuring-While-Drilling) operations will assess borehole conditions and formation properties of the cover sediments of the Kumano Basin and the underlying accretionary prism.
The expedition is led by co-chief scientists Eiichiro Araki of JAMSTEC; Timothy Byrne of University of Connecticut, U.S.A.; Lisa McNeil of University of Southampton, U.K.; and Demian Saffer of Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A. For all the details, including daily reports, photos, the list of science party members, click here. |
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PEAT II Science Party Aboard the JR
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PEAT II began on the heels of a celebration of the newly modernized JOIDES Resolution, an event tucked into a port call as the two PEAT science parties changed places aboard the JR. NSF Director Arden Bement visited the JR while it was in port. He told a crowd of guests on the pier, “For eons, humans have looked up into the skies for insights into Earth's origins and its place in the cosmos. Now we can . . . drill beyond the abyss to find such insights."
The second part of the
Pacific Equatorial Age Transect Expedition departed Honolulu on May 9, led by co-chief scientists Mitch Lyle of Texas A & M University, U.S.A, and Isabella Raffi of Universita "G. D'Annunzio" Campus Universitario, Italy. The second PEAT team is collecting sediment cores from the seafloor at three more drilling locations in the targeted area. During the first PEAT leg, led by Heiko Pälike of the University of Southampton, U.K., and Hiroshi Nishi of Hokkaido University, Japan, scientists obtained records reaching from the present back to the warmest sustained "greenhouse" period on Earth, around 53 million years ago. Shipboard studies revealed that changes in ocean acidification, linked to climate change, have a large and global impact on marine organisms. Check out a variety of videos online at YouTube that show PEAT science party members at work, the captain and his bridge team, and the first PEAT cores coming on deck. Click here to find links to the expedition reports, blogs the scientists wrote, the expedition website, the JR website and PEAT news releases.
The JR departs Honolulu with the PEAT I science party on board.
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New Jersey Shallow Shelf Coring Underway
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ESO launched the New Jersey Shallow Shelf Expedition amidst local media excitement in Atlantic City on April 30. The L/B Kayd arrived in Atlantic City ahead of schedule from New Orleans, and the DOSECC crew energetically mobilized the rig floor with container-labs, drill pipe and other provisions required for the expedition. Within several days the Kayd was ready to disembark with 26 scientists on board, led by co-chief scientist Gregory Mountain of Rutgers University, who switched places with co-chief scientist Jean-Noël Proust of CNRS, France, during the expedition. The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) also supports Exp. 313 because the science plan calls for acquisition of cores expected to bring new data to the transect that reaches from the coastal plain to the continental slope. “Access to the records in our current drill target will provide us with missing information that bridges those two sets of records,” Dr. Mountain told reporters who covered the launch. See daily reports, the first weekly report, news releases, photos and videos of the Kayd mobilization here. Also, see the ESO expedition web page for maps and other information.
The mission-specific platform, the L/B Kayd, dominated the skyline at the Atlantic City marina before it departed on April 30, 2009.
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CHIKYU Featured on Major Broadcast
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“Live from International Space Station,” an international video broadcast (in Japanese language) aired on May 4, 2009 on NHK, Japan’s national TV broadcast network. CHIKYU communicated
with astronauts in the International Space Station for nearly three hours during prime time, reaching a large Japanese audience worldwide. Asahiko Taira, executive director of JAMSTEC, commented on the history of Earth environment and discussed scientific ocean drilling. Debbie Thomas of TAMU also appeared to illustrate PETM core.
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Call for Nominations for U.S. Leadership Positions
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The U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP) seeks new members for the U.S. Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling (USAC) and the IODP Science Advisory Structure (SAS). Open SAS positions are available on the SAS Executive Committee (SASEC), the Science Planning Committee (SPC), the Science Steering and Evaluation Panel (SSEP), Site Survey Panel (SSP), Scientific Technology Panel (STP) and Engineering Development Panel (EDP). New members will serve three-year terms beginning October 2009. U.S.-based scientists interested in volunteering for these opportunities should send a cover letter and a two-page CV to Emily Powell by June 15, 2009.
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ECORD’s Dynamic Leadership, Outreach
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In addition to the exciting NJSS expedition underway, there’s more action throughout ECORD:
- ECORD’s standard leadership rotation has generated new ECORD Council chairs: Fernando Barriga of Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology (FST), the new Council chair; Chris Franklin, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) becomes vice-chair. The chairs serve from April 1, 2009 until Sept. 30, 2009.
- On Oct. 1, 2009, the European Science Support and Advisory Committee (ESSAC) moves to Bremerhaven, Germany. In conjunction with the relocation, ESSAC invites applications for the position of ESSAC Science Coordinator. The application period closes on July 14.
- More than 9,000 scientists gathered in Vienna in April for the EGU General Assembly, where for the fifth consecutive year ECORD presented IODP. With strong support from IODP-MI, CDEX/JAMSTEC, J-DESC, the USIO, and ICDP, ECORD presented an array of activities at EGU: IODP/ECORD exhibit booth, an IODP-ICDP Townhall meeting, scientific sessions and a pre-INVEST workshop. Two news conferences, Full Speed Ahead-- IODP Expeditions 2009 and The Future of IODP can be viewed on the EGU 2009 website as webstreams on demand.
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New Issue of CHIKYU Hakken Now Online
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The seventh edition of CHIKYU Hakken, a newsletter published by CDEX, is now available online. The current issue features special coverage of NanTroSEIZE Stage 2 operations, which will employ riser drilling for the first time in the history of scientific ocean drilling. A second feature, IODP Challenges of the Mysteries of Earth Science, explores the unknown world beneath the ocean floor and the discoveries IODP makes possible. Experts in four scientific fields of study related to scientific ocean drilling discuss advances made in past research and look toward exciting developments of future drilling research. Also look for an article on revealing Earth’s past climate via IODP Exp. 323, drilling in the Bering Sea, scheduled for July-Sept. 2009. Other topics include:
- Graphic Guide: Long-Term Borehole Monitoring System
- Face: IODP Project Staff--IODP Curator
- CDEX Deck: Chikyu Event Information
- For the Future: This is the year when IODP breaks through
- Close-up: Meet Chikyu at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
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New IODP-MI President Takes Reins
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As of May 18, Kiyoshi Suyehiro officially assumed the position of IODP-MI President & CEO. For the next several months, he will work in Washington, DC at the current IODP headquarters. “This is an exciting time to be involved with IODP,” Dr. Suyehiro notes, “The challenge is to continue strengthening IODP science and ensure that continuous investigations will match that strength far into the future.” Continue reading Dr. Suyehiro’s message about IODP future directions here. |
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Register to Attend INVEST Conference
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Registration is open for INVEST, a large multidisciplinary international conference, to be held at University of Bremen, Germany, Sept. 23-25, 2009. INVEST, open to interested scientists and students,will define the scientific goals of the second phase of IODP, which is to begin in 2013. Scientific themes to be discussed during INVEST include subseafloor microbial life, geodynamics, geohazards, Earth’s exterior environment through geological time, climate and sea-level change, and borehole instrumentation as part of an Earth and Oceans observatory initiative. INVEST will highlight emerging fields and potential future directions. Conference speakers include: Vincent Courtillot, Andrew Fisher, David Hodell, Tori Hoehler, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Jeff Kiehl, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Terry Plank, Kiyoshi Suyehiro, Doug Toomey, and Jim Zachos. Registration is open until Aug. 3. Travel support is available from most IODP member countries. |
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InterRidge Sponsors Pre-INVEST Workshop
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InterRidge is sponsoring a planning workshop, Melting, Magma, Fluids, and Life, July 27-29, 2009, at National Oceanographic Center, University of Southampton, U.K. The meeting is a precursor to the INVEST meeting, allowing early review of achievements and identification of future experiments to further develop scientific understanding of mid-ocean ridge processes and chemical and biological exchanges between the ocean lithosphere and the wider Earth system. Scientists at all career stages and representing a wide range of disciplines are welcome and encouraged to participate in this workshop. Discussions will include the full breadth of ocean lithospheric processes, from mantle melting to crustal magmatism, ridge axis and flank hydrothermal exchange, tectonic variability, subcrustal life and its influence on chemical exchanges. The workshop will identify key objectives and technical requirements for future sampling of the oceanic lithosphere in preparation for the IODP INVEST conference in September. Registration is currently open and cost-free.
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Web Portal Spruce-Up Provides Chance for User Feedback
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Are you a regular visitor to the IODP web portal? Are there features you rely upon? Features that you would like to see added? As IODP strengthens the technical integrity of its site, your input can help preserve what you like, and help us improve what doesn’t work well enough.
Please take a few minutes to answer four short questions and tell us what you think.
Take survey here.
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May 24-27—Joint Assembly of the American Geophysical Union and Canadian Geoscience Associations. Toronto, Canada. Visit IODP booth supported by IODP Canada, Canada Consortium for Ocean Drilling (CCOD), ECORD, and IODP-MI.
June 15—Deadline to apply for USSSP Workshop: Scientific Ocean Drilling of Mid-Ocean Ridge and Ridge-Flank Settings. (See calendar for Aug 27-28, Austin, Texas.)
June 15—Deadline to apply to join the U.S. Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling (USAC) and the IODP Science Advisory Structure (SAS). Contact Emily Powell.
June 15—Early registration and submission (camera-ready papers) deadline for the First IEEE GRSS WHISPERS Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing–Evolution in Remote Sensing, Grenoble, France.
June 23–July 5—School of Rock 2009, Cores, CORKS, and Hydrology on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, sponsored by IODP and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
July 27-29—InterRIDGE Workshop: Melting, Magma, Fluids and Life, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, U.K.
Aug. 3 —Last day to register for INVEST.
Sept. 3–Oct. 2—GEOTECH 2009 Expo, First Mediterranean Earth, Industry & Technology Exhibition and Conference, Rome.
Sept. 23-25—INVEST, Bremen, Germany.
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IODP E-News is a bimonthly publication of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International (IODP-MI). It is produced and distributed by IODP-MI for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ministry of Culture, Education, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and other participating countries. Its content is based upon research supported under NSF Contract OCE-0432224.
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