Tahiti Sea Level Exp. Examines Global Sea Level Change
Departing from Papeete, Tahiti, early last month, scientists from nine nations set sail on the IODP Tahiti Sea Level Expedition, a research expedition initiated to investigate global sea level rise since the last glacial maximum. For weeks aboard the DP HUNTER, the expedition science party has worked on the most extensive geological research investigation ever undertaken in a coral reef area.
Scientists expect the coral reefs to yield records on changes in sea surface temperature since the last glacial maximum and to provide information on climatic anomalies, including El Niño/Southern Oscillation events. During the same time period, global sea level rose by about 120 meters, primarily because of the melting of large inland ice sheets. Scientists aboard the drillship aim to learn more about the timing and details of past global sea level changes.
Exp. 311 Cores Cascadia Margins for Gas Hydrate Samples
Scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution recovered gas hydrate samples from the Cascadia Margins off Canada’s western coast. This expedition is the first to explore a transect of deep drilling research sites across the Cascadia continental margin. According to co-chief Timothy Collett of the U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo., “Expedition 311 has shown that the occurrence of gas hydrate is much more complex than predicted. Instead of finding gas hydrate concentrated in one layer,” he said, “near the base of the zone where it is stable, higher concentrations of gas hydrate were found within coarse-grained sand layers throughout the core samples from most of the sites drilled.”
High school students in Papeete who came aboard the DP Hunter listened to a short discussion on logging from an IODP scientist.
As part of the Tahiti Sea Level Expedition 310, ECORD brought new awareness of scientific ocean-drilling to Tahiti and its various in-island communities. A well executed port call program targeted government officials, students, and the public at large.
Just before the Tahiti Sea Level Expedition began, co-chief scientist Gilbert Camoin and EMA Manager Catherine Mével visited Université de la Polynésie Française as part of their "Conférences Savoirs pour Tous" ("knowledge for everybody"). The event was promoted on local radio and attracted approximately 60-70 people, primarily university students. In addition, a news conference resulted in abundant coverage in local medianewspapers, radio, and TV. CNRS-INSU, the French research agency to which co-chief scientist Gilbert Camoin is attached, hosted a reception for representatives of State and Polynesian government (Tahiti is part of French Polynesia), the French Navy, the university, and other local research institutes. Not only did the gathering afford an opportunity to convey information about IODP and the Tahiti Sea Level Expedition, but it also provided an opportunity, said Catherine Mevel, “to explain why this drillship would be sitting outside the reef for six weeks.”
Camoin and Mevel also visited high schools, one in Papeete, the island nation’s capital, and one in Papara, a small town in the southern part of the island. “Our experience in classrooms was very interesting,” said Mevel, “Our presentations generated a lot of questions regarding the cruise, but also [about] the profession of scientist.
The IODP repository at University of Bremen. Photos courtesy of BCR, Bremen.
A new building on the University of Bremen campus accommodates the Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), the DFG Research Center for Ocean Margins (RCOM), and the Bremen Core Repository (BCR).
The Bremen Core Repository has operated for the past 11 years on behalf of both ODP and IODP. Its ongoing relationship with IODP was solidified on Oct. 1, 2004 with an IODP-MI contract. BCR, the second largest ODP/IODP core repository in the world, presently contains 84,296 meters of deep-sea sediment and hard rock cores from 34 expeditions (33 aboard the JOIDES Resolution plus the Arctic Coring Expedition that ESO conducted). The cores are now housed in 1,100 square meters of refrigerated storage space and on storage racks 5.5 meters high, most of them movable. Total capacity is about triple that of the former hall at the Bremen docks. According to IODP curator Ursula Röhl, 2,886 scientists have visited the facility since 1994, with more than 420,000 samples taken back home for study.
The Chikyu continues to move from port to port around Japan, welcoming the public on board to introduce them to scientific ocean drilling and the world’s most advanced scientific drilling vessel, named Planet Earth in English . The number of people who have visited the drillship, in Yokohama and Yokosuka, Nagoya, and most recently Hachinohe, totals 26,000. In Hachinohe, 12,000 people were admitted to the Chikyu over a two-day period (Oct. 9–10). According to CDEX Director-General Asahiko Taira, the goal is to bring 100,000 people aboard the vessel. “If 100,000 people visit the Chikyu and they each tell 10 people,” he told the IODP Science Planning Committee, “one million Japanese will be personally aware of the Chikyu.”
Eligible graduate students may apply for a U.S.-sponsored Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship. Candidates of outstanding promise and ability are invited to submit research proposals compatible with the science goals of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). Submitted proposals must be based on any past IODP, ODP, or DSDP leg.
The award of $28,000 per year is to be used for stipend, tuition and fees, benefits, research costs, and incidental travel. Applicants must be enrolled in a Ph.D. or M.S. program at a U.S. institution. For a fellowship application and more information, visit: http://www.usssp-iodp.org/Schlanger. Application deadline is November 15, 2005.
Contact the Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship Program,
, for more information.
An IODP Town Hall Meeting is to be held in San Francisco on Thursday, Dec. 8, during the AGU Fall Meeting. The meeting, “Focus on Future IODP Achievement,” is planned to look at the newest emerging program areas:
Status of the U.S.-sponsored drilling vessel conversion;
Chikyu — Japan’s newest technology ‘wonder’ and IODP’s newest asset in scientific ocean-drilling innovation;
IODP’s premier expedition in 2007: the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE);
Modification of the IODP proposal process: an overview of the Frascati Recommendations; and
Introduction to IODP long-range planning workshops to be held next summer.
The Town Hall Meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m. in Room 3011, Moscone West. The event will be preceded by an informal reception beginning at 6 p.m. in the area adjacent to Room 3011. Full speaker information and agenda details available at http://www.iodp.org/education/ (scroll down to Town Hall Meeting, San Francisco)
Look for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program exhibition booth at AGU, number 320-322-324. Informational material from all three Implementing Organizations and IODP operations will be available under “one roof.” Stop by to add your name or a colleague’s to the IODP listserve, to subscribe to Scientific Drilling, and to learn how to navigate the IODP web site for maximum value.
Scientists able to volunteer in the IODP booth for a two-hour shift during the week Dec. 6-9 are encouraged to send a message to
stating their availability. Alternatively, visit the booth on Dec. 5 or 6 to see if any time slots remain open for volunteers.
Looking for an IODP scientist in another country? Need to find the author of a particular article about a particular ocean-drilling expedition? Want to see if IODP publications are printed in other languages? Try using the new search feature at www.IODP.org. We’ve strengthened the web portal’s search engine to reach into thirty ODP and IODP web sites, shortcutting your search for information about scientific ocean drilling. The new search engine is on the home page at the top right, http://www.iodp.org/.
Virtual meeting rooms are now available for scientists who would like to gather online to discuss a specific topic or review materials and have a threaded discussion in a password-protected environment. Public work rooms, accessible without a password, can be set to topics by any registered scientist. Visit http://www.iodp.org/ and click on Work Rooms to see how these new features work.
To download IODP E-NEWS in a PDF format CLICK HERE For more information or inquiries about any topic in this e-newsletter, please e-mail
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.
