What we do
The International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP3) is an international marine research collaboration that explores Earth’s history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks and to monitor subseafloor environments. The IODP3 builds on more than 50 years of scientific ocean drilling and the highly successful legacy of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP2), Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) that revolutionised our knowledge of the Earth and its oceans, resources, climate and life. IODP3 brings together a variety of scientific disciplines with a common goal of understanding the Earth’s past, present and future.
The UK subscribes to IODP3 as a major contributor to the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD). ECORD unites 14 European countries and Canada in a single management structure for scientific ocean drilling as part of IODP3. ECORD and Japan are the core members of the current programme; together with associate members, they fund and steer IODP3 research. ECORD is also responsible for funding and implementing Mission Specific Platform (MSP) expeditions.
UK participation in IODP3 is supported by NERC via UK-IODP by:
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Funding membership in IODP3 through ECORD
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Facilitating participation of UK scientists in IODP3 expeditions and research
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Making UK scientists, industry and stakeholders aware of opportunities, and results of scientific ocean drilling-related research
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Providing grants to enable UK scientists to exploit the results of IODP3 drilling
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Organising and supporting IODP3-related meetings and workshops in the UK and supporting attendance of UK scientists in international IODP3 meetings and workshops
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Facilitating participation of the UK scientists in the Science Advisory Structure of IODP3 and ECORD
Our Science
IODP3 is a bottom-up, community-led collaboration in marine research. Like each of the previous scientific ocean drilling programmes, it is steered scientifically by a Science Plan produced by the international scientific community; the 2050 Science Framework: Exploring Earth by Scientific Drilling has a 25-year outlook and will guide scientists in developing proposals for IODP3. It is a living document that guides scientists on the important research frontiers that scientific ocean drilling should pursue and often that can only be achieved through scientific ocean drilling. The framework focuses on the many ways in which scientific ocean drilling will increase our understanding of the fundamental connections among Earth system components while addressing a range of natural and human-caused environmental challenges facing society.
Strategic Objectives
The seven Strategic Objectives of the Framework comprise broad Earth science research areas that form the foundation of scientific ocean drilling through 2050.
Each objective focuses on understanding the interconnections within the Earth system. The objectives are wide-ranging and aspirational to allow new science to emerge through bottom-up proposal development and peer review.
Collectively, the Strategic Objectives cover the interconnected processes and feedbacks of the full Earth system that can be uniquely investigated with scientific ocean drilling.
Flagship Initiatives
The five Flagship Initiatives comprise long-term research efforts that require multi-expedition scientific ocean drilling over long time intervals. Each aims to test scientific paradigms and hypotheses that inform issues of particular relevance or interest to society. The Flagship Initiatives typically combine research goals from multiple Strategic Objectives.
expeditions
IODP3 Expeditions are conducted throughout the world’s oceans, following the well-established Mission Specific Platform (MSP) format, using commercially available platforms and the JAMSTEC research vessels, including D/V Chikyu.
SPARCs
Scientific Projects using Ocean Drilling Archives (SPARCs) are large-scale interdisciplinary research projects that use existing ocean drilling samples and data to address key ambitions of the 2050 Science Framework, particularly its Flagship Initiatives.
Scientific Ocean Drilling Operations
Drilling into the ocean floor to collect valuable scientific samples requires state of the art technology and specially designed drilling platforms (ships and rigs). IODP3 operations are run by two Science Operators, each of which manages a different type of platform:
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The Deep Sea Drilling Vessel Chikyu is the first riser-equipped drilling vessel built specifically for science. It is capable of drilling to depths as great as 7000 m below the seafloor. Chikyu is operated by the Institute for Marine-Earth Exploration and Engineering (MarE3) within JAMSTEC, Japan.
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The ECORD Science Operator (ESO) operates expeditions using Mission-Specific Platforms (MSPs). MSPs may be commercial or research vessels/platforms with particular capabilities, such as shallow water or polar drilling, as required by the specific conditions of the expedition.
You can find out more about the history and statistics of scientific ocean drilling here.
Chikyu
(Image credit: JAMSTEC)
MSP L/B Myrtle
(Image credit: D. Smith, ECORD)