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Foreword

By Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is now in the latter half of its decadal program (2003–2013). As envisioned in the Initial Science Plan (ISP), IODP expeditions take advantage of three scientific ocean drilling platforms that enable us to cover unprecedented areas of wide oceans, from ice-covered shallow water to full ocean depths. Drilling miles of depth below seafloor, now part of IODP capabilities, is the major advance from the program predecessors, the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the Ocean Drilling Program. The living Earth is a dynamic system that is continuously evolving. IODP seeks to understand this complex and unique system through scientific ocean drilling, sampling, and experimenting in deep holes, along with advancement of related scientific disciplines. IODP is an international collaboration among scientists and nations with keen aspirations to attain the scientific goals of the ISP. IODP currently includes participating members from 24 nations.

The Proceedings present the scientific and engineering results of IODP drilling projects, each designed to better understand the past, present, and future of the Earth system.

IODP expeditions begin with scientists who submit research drilling proposals to test new and innovative ideas, then the proposals progress to international scientific advisors (Science Advisory Structure) who nurture, evaluate, rank, and prioritize proposals. Scientists also schedule the science operations, select science party members from scores of international scientists qualified to participate, plan platform operations, ready the drillship, and choose borehole locations. The science party, collectively and individually, conducts science on board and on shore. The co-chief scientists on each expedition are responsible for synthesizing the scientific results as hallmark of expedition.

Ocean-drilling achievements help us to understand and interpret phenomena in various parts of the Earth system. Achievements in the two legacy drilling programs have validated the scientific concepts behind plate tectonics, contributed to the understanding of ocean circulation changes, and extended our knowledge of long- and short-term climate change. IODP is truly an expansion and extension of the scientific research conducted by the legacy programs, engaging in cutting-edge research concerning topics of global importance.

IODP drilling platform operations are conducted by three Implementing Organizations (IOs). Riserless platform operations are conducted by the U.S. Implementing Organization (USIO), comprising the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Inc., Texas A&M University through the Texas A&M Research Foundation, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Riser platform operations are conducted by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology through Japan’s Center for Deep Earth Exploration in cooperation with the Center for Advanced Marine Core Research at Kochi University. Mission-specific platform operations are conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) Science Operator, comprising the British Geological Survey, University of Bremen, and the European Petrophysics Consortium. The European IO currently represents the ocean-drilling efforts of 16 nations in Europe, plus Canada.

The discoveries presented in this volume build upon layers of knowledge and science developed over roughly the last fifty years. Expedition Proceedings are published by IODP Management International for IODP under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and other IODP members. The material is based upon research supported under Contract OCE-0432224 from NSF.

Kiyoshi Suyehiro
President & Chief Executive Officer
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.
Tokyo
www.iodp.org/

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