The current Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP 2003-2013) will come to an end on September 30, 2013, and will be followed by the International Ocean Discovery Program, Exploring the Earth beneath the sea. Since June 2009 a number of actions and initiatives have been carried out to shape the new 10-year programme to start on October 2013. ECORD is actively involved in these initiavitives both at science and management levels.
Building a new science plan for 2013-2023
Close to 600 participants from 21 countries met at the IODP New Ventures in Exploring Scientific Targets (INVEST) Conference from September 22 to 25, 2009, in Bremen, Germany, to focus on defining the scientific research goals of the new ocean drilling programme.
To prepare the conference, the IODP Program Member Offices (PMOs) have assembled inputs from their scientific community in reports:
>> Charting the Future Course of Scientific Ocean Drilling (CHART),
>> Reports from Japanese domestic workshops for INVEST,
>> Beyond 2013: the Future of European Scientific Drilling Research.
More than 110 White Papers were submitted and discussed in working groups during the conference. The INVEST Report was published in June 2010.
Following the conference, a Science Plan Writing Committee (SPWC) approved by the IWG+ worked to draft a new science plan published online in February 2011. Pr Mike Bickle (U. Cambridge) chaired the committee and Gilbert Camoin, (CEREGE), Heiko Pälike and Damon Teagle (NOCS) were appointed as ECORD members.
After solicited comments from the scientific community were integrated to the draft, the IODP Science Plan for 2013-2023 “Illuminating Earth’s Past, Present and Future” was published on June 2011.
>> download the IODP Science Plan 2013-2023Framing a new international programme
The IODP Council, representing all IODP funding agencies, created the International Working Group Plus (IWG+) “to start planning the new framework for cooperation in the new drilling program to begin in late 2013. The vision of the IWG+ is to frame a new multinational program architecture that promotes delivery of the best possible and most exciting and relevant science to the broad science community and the public through scientific ocean drilling.” (cited from the IWG+ ToR, June 2009). The ECORD Council designated six ECORD representatives on IWG+: Catherine Mével (EMA), Mireille Perrin (Council Chair, France), Anne de Vernal (Council Vice-chair, Canada), Guido Lüniger (Council Executive, Germany), Fernando Barriga (Council delegate, Portugal), Jose-Ramon Sanchez-Quintana (Council Executive, Spain) and Mike Webb (Council Executive, UK). The IWG+ is co-chaired by Rodey Batiza (NSF), Shingo Shibata (MEXT) and Catherine Mével (ECORD) and met for the first time on June 2009.
Based on the IODP Science Plan for 2013-2023, the new architecture of the programme developed by IWG+ is composed of:
- IODP Forum is the overarching umbrella of the programme,
- International Science Advisory Structure (SAS) evaluates all proposals for all platforms,
- Support Office assists the SAS, prepare the Annual Program Plan, manages the Site Survey Data Bank and IODP website and publishes the Scientific Drilling Journal,
- Platform Providers replace the Implementing Organizations (IOs) with more responsibilities (data management, core curation, publications, engineering development, education and outreach). Each platform provider will rely on its own Facility Board to schedule their platforms (JOIDES Resolution, Chikyu and MSPs) based on the proposals forwarded by the SAS.
>> download the New IODP Framework (August 17, 2012)
The Future of ECORD 2013-2023
The new architecture leads to substantial changes in the ECORD structure and functioning. A document prepared by Robert Gatliff (ESO Chair), Catherine Mével (EMA Director 2003-2011), David McInroy (ESO Science Manager), Alan Stevenson (ESO Outreach Manager), Mireille Perrin (Council Vice-chair) and Gilbert Camoin (current EMA Director) outlines proposals for ECORD’s new phase as part of the IODP 2013-2023.
>> download the Future of ECORD 2013-2023 (February 2012)
A new ECORD in a new IODP
The new ECORD structure including existing entities (ECORD Council, EMA, ESO and ESSAC) with a new mandate (ECORD Outreach and Education Task Force) and membership (ECORD Industry Liaison Panel) and new entities (ECORD Executive Bureau, ECORD Vision Task Force and ECORD Facility Board) was designed and presented at the ECORD Council meeting in November 2012 in Edinburgh.
The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the ECORD participants and the NSF are written by EMA and will be approved by the Council and signed by mid 2013.
Download by G. Camoin and M. Borissova (Oct. 2012)
A Letter ECORD statement on the outcome of IODP agreement negotiations with the NSF and MEXT/JAMSTEC by Mike Webb (Council Chair), Gilbert Camoin, (EMA Director), Robert Gatliff (ESO Chair and Carlota Escutia (ESSAC Chair) – February 2013
This statement provides the ECORD science community with a brief summary of the main outcomes of the ECORD negotiations with NSF1 and MEXT/JAMSTEC2 and on the agreements that will apply from the start of the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) on the 1st October 2013.
