Amid great fanfare at Shingu port, the Chikyu embarked upon the first leg of the NanTroSEIZE drilling program, Sept. 21. Four days later, the expedition party, led by chief project scientists Harold Tobin (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) and Masa Kinoshita (JAMSTEC), began drilling operations. Drilling without coring was completed at several sites using dedicated Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) technology in unstable formations associated with accretionary prism environment. Results from a variety of Exp. 314 logging measurements will be crucial for optimizing subsequent Stage 1 expeditions for coring and observatory operations, and for planning future stages.
By early November, LWD operations were successfully completed at Hole C0001D (NT2-03: drilling depth 976mbsf), at Hole C0002A (NT3-01: drilling depth 1,401.5mbsf), and at Hole C0004B (NT2-01-I: drilling depth 400mbsf). LWD operations continued until Exp. 314 concluded on Nov. 15. Find weekly expedition reports at www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/Expedition/NantroSEIZE/exp314.html#overview. A photo gallery of Exp. 314 is online at www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/Expedition/NantroSEIZE/exp314_pg.html. From Nov. 16, IODP Expedition 315, the Mega Splay Riser Pilot (NT2-03), begins with a new science party and new co-chief scientists: Juichiro Ashi of University of Tokyo; and Siegfried Lallemantof University of Cergy-Pontoise, France. Exp. 315 operations include a pilot hole for the deep riser drilling of the mega splay fault in Stage 2. The expedition’s primary objectives are to obtain geotechnical information needed for well planning and riser drilling to 3,500 meters below seafloor. The location of the drill sites is critical to understanding the nature of the shallow portions of splay faults. The scientific targets of this expedition are deformation mechanics, fault-related fluid source and migration pathways, and correlations between fault activity and slump deposits on the trench slope. More information is available at www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/Expedition/NantroSEIZE/exp315.html.
Science, the weekly journal of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) includes a research article on the 3D seismic reflection survey conducted at the Sea of Kumano prior to NanTroSEIZE drilling operations. JAMSTEC carried out the preliminary survey in collaboration with University of Hawaii in 2006. Co-authored by Gregory Moore, Asahiko Taira, Shin'ichi Kuramoto, and Harold Tobin, the article appears in the Nov. 16 edition, and discusses the survey and its analysis; how both clarified the 3D geological structure under the sea floor, and showed that the mega splay fault derived from the plate boundary is the source of great tsunamis. The survey was critical to planning NanTroSEIZE drilling operations. Copies of the article will be available in the IODP booth at AGU, San Francisco. Subscribers can access the article and past coverage of IODP operations in the journal at www.sciencemag.org.
Following the deferment of the New Jersey Shallow Shelf Expedition in 2007, the ECORD Science Operator (ESO) has started the process of retendering the contract for a mission-specific platform for implementation in 2008. Expedition updates will be posted at www.eso.ecord.org/expeditions/313/313.htm.
IODP Program Member Offices (PMOs) are accepting scientific staff applications for drilling expeditions to the Canterbury Basin Sea Level and the Wilkes Land Expeditions. Deadline to submit an application is Nov. 30, 2007.
The Canterbury Basin Sea Level Expedition, tentatively scheduled for Nov. ’08-Jan. ’09, aims to understand the relative importance of global sea level versus local tectonic and sedimentary processes in controlling continental-margin deposits since the Oligocene. The Wilkes Land Paleoceanography Expedition, tentatively scheduled for Jan.-March’09, will investigate the long-term record of Antarctic glaciation and its relationship with global sea level, paleoclimate and paleoceanographic changes. To see the full call for applicants, go to www.iodp.org/apply-to-sail.
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership Board of Trustees named Robert Gagosian to the newly created position of President and CEO. Ocean Leadership, as the consortium is commonly called, was formed earlier this year by the merger of JOI with the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education.
Dr. Gagosian previously directed the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he created cross-disciplinary Ocean Institutes; oversaw the construction of new laboratories; launched a research vessel; secured funding to replace the Alvin research submarine; and raised $150 million for the Institution's capital campaign. More information about Ocean Leadership and its new president is online at www.oceanleadership.org.
As part of the normal ECORD Council rotation, Bruno Goffé of INSU-CNRS, France, has been named chair of the ECORD Council. In addition, Raymond Schorno from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) becomes vice-chair. Severino Falcon-Morales from the Ministerio de Education y Ciencia (Spain) has been named incoming vice-chair. These positions will be held from October 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008. E-mail addresses for all Council members are online at www.ecord.org/council.html.
In the UK, IODP wishes Operations Manager Alister Skinner well as he retires from the British Geological Survey (BGS) after 35 years of service. During much of that time, Ali has run offshore operations and managed engineering developments. Because Ali trained and worked as a geologist, he has been a valuable asset to IODP. He has used his combination of talents to great effect as a drilling consultant in many parts of the world. For years he served as the chair of ODP's Technical and Engineering Development Committee (TEDCOM). At the advent of IODP, Ali pulled together the ECORD Science Operator consortium that now implements ECORD’s mission-specific platforms. He also managed the offshore operations for the groundbreaking IODP Exp. 302 Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX), as well as the highly successful IODP Tahiti Sea Level Expedition 310. Ali will continue to consult during his retirement. Dave Smith succeeds Ali as Acting Head of BGS Marine Operations and Engineering. Until the end of November, Ali can be reached at
. Dave can be contacted at
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Following the untimely death of Tim Brewer, Sarah Davies of the University of Leicester has been appointed manager of the European Petrophysics Consortium. Sarah obtained her PhD from the University of Leicester and subsequently undertook postdoctoral research at the universities of Liverpool and Edinburgh before joining the department at Leicester as a lecturer in 1999. The overarching theme of her research has been unraveling the influence of tectonic, climatic, and eustatic controls on the development of sedimentary systems. Most recently, Sarah worked on industry-funded projects combining petrophysics and sedimentology. Reach Sarah at
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The latest issue of the ECORD Newsletter, October 2007 (#9), is available in both hard copy and online. This issue is thick with information from IODP’s ECORD partners:
An appreciation of the late Tim Brewer; A round-up of recent ECORD educational activities; ESSAC updates; IODP proposals recently sent to the Operations Task Force; and An article about the microbiological investigations in the Tahiti reef framework.
Kristen St. John (James Madison University, Virginia), Mark Leckie (University of Massachusetts-Amherst), Megan Jones (North Hennepin Community College, Minnesota), and Kate Pound (St. Cloud State University, Minnesota) were awarded a National Science Foundation grant of $173,671 over two years for a project entitled, Teaching Anchor Concepts of Climate Change Through Sediment Core Archives. The project will integrate geoscience research with education across a spectrum of introductory college-level geoscience courses that serve general education students, pre-service teachers, and early geoscience majors. The project will build a bridge from research to education by focusing on select deep-sea sediment core sites from which excellent examples of geoscience concepts and skills can be derived and shared with students. Topics include content on geologic time, age determination, and Earth materials as archives of Earth history. Materials developed will be made available on JOI Learning's website, www.joilearning.org.
The ECORD website offers an RSS newsfeed to automatically distribute new content about ECORD. The RSS feed provides a convenient way for all visitors to keep up with the latest news updates from the ECORD community with a simple subscription process. All ECORD/IODP webmasters are encouraged to configure their sites so that the latest headlines from ECORD’s RSS newsfeeds (‘ECORD News’) are embedded into their own pages, and updated automatically. To get more information or subscribe to ECORD newsfeeds, go to www.ecord.org/RSS/rss-info.html, or contact Patricia Maruéjol by e-mail,
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RSS newsfeeds are also available on the IODP web portal. Scientists can register for newsfeeds on the main page, www.iodp.org or on the Scientists’ page, www.iodp.org/RSS-Feeder_Scientists. There is a third RSS feed on the Media page for journalists who wish to receive IODP news as soon as it is issued.
SASEC, the SAS Executive Committee, has published a draft proposal for refocusing IODP program efforts. The draft plan is posted online during November to attract comments from the community. The proposal recognizes a decrease in operational days for IODP in the coming fiscal year and proposes recommendations for refocusing the program in order to maximize the potential for major scientific impact. Download the draft implementation plan at www.iodp.org/implementation-plan. Submit your comments on the plan by Nov. 30 to IODP-MI by sending an e-mail to
. Identity of those submitting comments will be kept confidential by request.
As a result of the SAS activity to refocus IODP operations and the IODP Initial Science Plan, the IODP Science Advisory Structure (SAS) and IODP Management International (IODP-MI) have decided not to solicit mission proposals this year. Non-mission proposal submissions will be accepted on the April 1, 2008 deadline, however. See www.iodp.org/drilling-proposals for more information.
The continuous retrieval of undisturbed core samples, particularly within lithologies of increasing hardness, has been a challenge throughout DSDP, ODP, and IODP. To implement the most effective coring measures, a quantitative and thorough understanding of the measurements that define core quality, plus the factors that adversely affect core quality are needed. As part of the FY 2008 Engineering Development Plan, IODP-MI has initiated the first step in investigating and assessing core quality and core quantity. A new multi-phase effort aims to (1) quantify and define core quality, (2) understand, identify, and quantify the full range of issues affecting core quality and core quantity, and (3) provide a series of recommendations as to how IODP might improve core quality by improving existing procedures or by implementing or developing new technology.
IODP-MI is currently tapping into the expertise that resides in the IODP community and in the industrial drilling and coring community. If you have experience with coring that might help meet one or more of the above stated goals, please contact Kelly Oskvig at
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Many sessions derivative of ODP and IODP will be presented at AGU’s Fall Meeting, Dec. 10-14, 2007, in San Francisco. Below are several you may wish to attend. Also, don’t forget to visit IODP at booth 400-402-404 to see a scaled-down replica of the Chikyu, see demonstrations derivative of the coming JOIDESResolution laboratories, and get expedition updates program-wide. Scientists who wish to volunteer in the IODP booth may contact
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Improving the Accuracy of Core Location and Recovery Estimates Through the Integration of Core Data, Wireline Logs and Drilling Parameters: an Example From IODP Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level The Expedition 310 logging program included the collection of high resolution optical and acoustic images. Visual correlation of the recovered core with these image logs provides an extremely effective method of integrating these datasets. Full abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/waisfm07.html (Monday 08:00, Session PP11A-0205) Shaking up an Old Standard: The Paleocene-Eocene Boundary Through the Eyes of DSDP Site 401. Full abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/waisfm07.html (Monday, 08:00, Session PP11A-0227). Gas Hydrate Occurrence Across the Cascadia Margin From Pore Water Chlorinity and Downhole Geophysical Logs (IODP Exp. 311) OS11C-05. IODP Exp. 311 drilled a transect of four sites crossing the northern Cascadia convergent margin in a slow, diffuse fluid flow environment. These transect sites are an ideal data set to compare variation in gas hydrate. See the full abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/waisfm07.html (Monday 09:00, Session OS11C-05) IODP Town Hall Meeting, Tuesday, 17:30 Parc 55 Hotel. See roster of speakers/topics online at www.iodp.org/education (scroll down to Town Hall Meetings). The Cenozoic Arctic Ocean Revealed Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) co-chiefs convene a special session on ACEX expedition results (IODP Exp. 302) developed by more than 40 scientists who have further analyzed the unique paleoclimate record ACEX collected, using petrophysical, chemical, paleontological, stratigraphic, and geophysical techniques. See the full abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/?content=search&show=detail&sessid=201 (Thursday 13:40, Session PP43D) First Results From NanTroSEIZE LWD, IODP Expedition 314: Physical and hydrologic properties. Poster session presented by co-chief project scientists Harold Tobin (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) and Masa Kinoshita, JAMSTEC. Abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/waisfm07.html (Friday 13:40) First Results From NanTroSEIZE Logging While Drilling, IODP Expedition 314: Fault Zone and Thrust Sheet Structural Synthesis. Poster session presented by Drs. Tobin and Kinoshita (see above). Abstract at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/waisfm07.html (Friday 13:40)
Scientific Drilling will publish a special issue dedicated to fault zone drilling at year’s end. The issue includes a white paper from the Joint IODP-ICDP Fault Zone Drilling Workshop, presented by IODP-MI and ICDP in May 2006, in Miyazaki, Japan. The 120-page special issue is divided into five sections: scientific motivations, recent projects, fault zone structure, composition and physical properties, physics of earthquake rupture, and the technological challenges of drilling.
This special issue is available as a PDF and in a limited published quantity. If you'd like to receive a hard copy, please, send an e-mail request to
with your postal address, or sign up to receive it at the IODP booth at AGU.
If you are presenting a session or poster at any of the following meetings where IODP will mount exhibits, IODP would like to help attract attention to your session. Simply send an e-mail with the URL of the abstract—if it’s already online—or just the title of the session/poster, your name and affiliation. We’ll include the information in outreach materials at the IODP booth, by word of mouth, and when time and space permit, in this e-newsletter. Send information to:
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AAAS—Feb. 14-18, 2008, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
AAPG—April 20-23, 2008, San Antonio, Texas. (American Association of Petroleum Geologists)
April 13-18, 2008—Euro FORUM 2008 “Achievements and Perspectives in Ocean and Continental Drilling.” EGU in Vienna (Co-conveners: Gilbert Camoin - ECORD and Ulrich Harms - ICDP). www.ecord.org/pi/euroforum2008.pdf
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.
An appreciation of the late Tim Brewer;
