Six new expeditions were added to the IODP 2005 calendar. All will be conducted by the United States Implementing Organization (USIO), known as the JOI Alliance. New expeditions include:

Summary documents of the last three expeditions above will be posted to www.iodp.org when they are approved for public review.

Dublin Port Call Set for April

The JOIDES Resolution will make a port call in Dublin on April 27–28 as the Porcupine Basin Carbonate Mounds Expedition readies to drill a downslope suite of three sites on the eastern slope of Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. As a prelude to its under-thesea activities, IODP will present the goals of the scientific drilling program to Ireland’s scientists and policymakers at a seminar. A news conference, tour of the JOIDES Resolution and reception complete the port call schedule.

The primary objectives of the Porcupine Basin Carbonate Mounds Expedition are to unlock the environmental records stored in the carbonate mounds and to shed light on those processes which may have controlled the genesis of the mounds.

Expedition co-chief scientist Jean-Pierre Henriet of the Renard Center of Marine Geology at Ghent University in Belgium explains what he expects the science party to achieve:

“Giant modern carbonate mounds might yield a clue to a billion-years-old phenomenon, which remains a recurrent yet enigmatic life strategy. We believe that mounds find their origin at the confluence of fluxes from external oceanic and internal methane origin, and that microbial consortia play a dominant role in their development. By coring an extinct mound over 170 meters high, the Porcupine expedition will unravel the genesis and dynamics of a natural force that is akin to a giant biogeochemical reactor.”

ECORD Managing Agency (EMA) Administrator Catherine Mevel adds, “The Dublin port call presents an opportunity to inform Ireland’s leading scientists about IODP’s current science plan and to whet their tastes to IODP challenges. Ireland was an important contributor to European drilling in the past, and we would welcome Ireland again, as an ECORD and IODP partner.” ECORD currently represents the scientific drilling interests of 14 European nations, plus Canada.

Candidates interested in upcoming expeditions should apply to sail through national and regional IODP offices:
• In the United States, visit www.joiscience.org
• In Japan, visit www.j-desc.org
• In Europe and Canada, visit www.ecord.org/exp/expeditions.html
• In China, visit www.iodp-china.org
The complete IODP expedition schedule may be viewed at www.iodp.org/expeditions

The Tahiti Sea Level Expedition, tentatively scheduled to occur in late Summer 2005, will set out to identify the global change in sea level at the end of the last glaciation.

IODP scientists plan to reconstruct the deglaciation curve during the last 20,000 to 10,000 years—including minimum sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum—and investigate climate change based on meltwater pulses that affected reef growth. The science party will establish cyclical climate patterns based on sea surface temperatures as recorded by variations in isotopic ratios within the reef material, and assess how sea level changes affect coral reef growth. If possible, the IODP team will identify specific recent climatic phenomena such as El Niño within the sediment core retrieved.

"Understanding the history and impact of sea level fluctuations and climatic changes is one of the most societally relevant objectives of marine geology and geophysics," says expedition proponent Gilbert Camoin of Europole Mediterranéen del'Arbois. "Coral reefs are accurate, sensitive recorders of past sea level and climactic changes, due to their strict ecologial requirements and their extreme sensitivity to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced," he adds.

To review the expedition proposal, go to www.essac.ecord.org/participation.php. The full proposal will be posted at http://www.iodp.org/ when it is approved for public review.

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is conducting a study off the coast of Sumatra where the large-scale earthquake and tsunami occurred last December. The study will be the first to observe the actual epicenter of the earthquake that devastated coastal regions in Asian countries along the Indian Ocean coastline.

Started on Feb. 18, the study is observing the sea floor area of the earthquake epicenter through use of the marine research vessel “Natsushima” and a robot craft to be placed on an ocean-bottom seismograph to the epicenter’s south side. The agency will study submarine topographic changes and aftershock distribution by direct observation, and will create a bathymetric chart. At the same time, the study is to specify the fault position and illustrate the characteristics of movement, including possible submarine topographic changes.

See full text of news release at www.iodp.org/education/.

A new journal is currently in production in Japan under the guidance of editor in chief Hans Christian Larsen and the IODP-MI Sapporo staff. Called Scientific Drilling, the journal’s premiere issue is expected in Spring 2005, targeted to the entire scientific drilling community.

The International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) has agreed to become a contributing partner in the journal’s production.

Scientific Drilling will publish science summaries of IODP expeditions and projects, plus ICDP and other scientific drilling initiatives. It will illuminate various drilling and borehole instrumentation technologies. Invited science reviews, contributions by outstanding scientists, progress reports, and reports from relevant workshops will be accepted.

The new journal will be available in electronic and print versions, and initially will
publish twice each year. Submissions will undergo internal review before acceptance.

Prospective authors should send their inquiries to .

Scientists who attended the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco
last December turned out in great numbers to hear first-hand accounts of IODP’s inaugural expeditions from the co-chief scientists, and to see footage of the science parties in the Arctic ice and on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. An update on the ships and platforms was also presented.

The next IODP Town Meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place during the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, a cosponsored activity planned with ECORD and
ICDP.
Tentatively set for April 26, the Town Meeting will be further detailed online at http://www.iodp.org/.

View images from the December Town Meeting online at http://www.iodp.org/education/.

A new registration feature on the home page of http://www.iodp.org/ enables you to update your listserve information online. The database gathered online from visitors will update and eventually replace the current IDOP listserve. Future informational products will be developed based on the profile information gathered online from visiting scientists.

By registering online, you will be assured of receiving future editions of IODP Insider.

If you would like to serve as your organization’s regular contributor to IODP Insider, please contact . You will receive a schedule of editorial deadlines for the year’s remaining issues.