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| The last phase of the Ocean Drilling Program, the world's longest running, largest and most successful
marine-earth science international programme, ended on September 30th 2003. The UK played a leading role throughout.
Its replacement is the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), which began scientific operations in 2004. |
| What is IODP? |
| The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is a scientific research initiative that began work in
2004. IODP builds upon the legacies of the early ocean drilling voyages, the Deep Sea Drilling Project, DSDP
(1968-1983) and the Ocean Drilling Program, ODP (1983-2003). However, what is on offer is a fundamentally new
and exciting research programme tailored to answer outstanding earth and ocean science questions.
IODP will enable fundamental investigation of Earth's processes, including geographical area that were
previously inaccessible or poorly understood. |
| Three major partners fund the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program: the European Consortium
for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), Japan and the United States. The
Ocean Drilling Program operated with just one vessel, the JOIDES
Resolution. IODP is a multi-platform programme based on two ships and mission-specific platforms. The
Japanese
will contribute a state-of-the-art riser vessel being supplied as part of the OD 21 Programme. A non-riser ship
is provided by the United States. ECORD will
contribute mission-specific platforms (e.g. shallow water drilling, ice covered regions). |
| With the new technology provided by the two ships, enhanced shore-based facilities and planned additional
platforms, IODP provides new and extensive opportunities for oceanographic and deep earth discovery. With multiple
platforms scientists are able to research more sites globally with advanced capabilities and therefore start to
address questions that require carefully-planned, multidisciplinary, integrated research programmes. The IODP riser
drill ship will provide a way to drill deep into continental margins (where potential oil and gas deposits inhibited
previous academic drilling) and into regions with thick sediment sections, fault zones, unstable formations or chert layers.
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The IODP is science driven, as outlined in the Initial Science Plan. There are 3 major themes:
- The Deep Biosphere and the Sub-Seafloor Ocean: Drilling will concentrate on expanding scientists'
understanding of the architecture and dynamics of the vast sub-seafloor plumbing system, where water alters
rock, modifies the long-term chemistry of the oceans, flows through seismically active faults, concentrates
economic mineral deposits, and controls the distribution of the deep biosphere.
- The Processes and Effects of Environmental Change: Ocean sediments provide a unique record of Earth's
climate fluctuations and allow detection of climate signals on three timescales: tectonic (longer than 0.5 million
years, and produced by changes in continent positions and continental seaways); orbital (20,000 years to 400,000
years, produced by changes in the Earth's orbit); and oceanic (hundreds to a few thousand years, produced by
changes in ocean circulation).
- Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics: The rates of mass and energy transfer from the mantle to the crust
and back are not constant through time. The causes of these variations and their influences on the global
environment are poorly understood. Drilling during the early phases of IODP will concentrate on sampling
and monitoring regions of the seafloor that currently have the highest rates of energy and mass transfer,
and comparing these results to older geologic settings. A crucial initial Program of deep drilling will be
to study the zone responsible for large destructive earthquakes along active plate boundaries.
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| For more information on the Initial IODP Science Plan click
here. |
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