Israel joins ECORD on 1st October 2013
Israel is the newest member having joined ECORD at the start of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP 2013-2023). On 1st October 2013. Israel is part of ECORD for the next three years within the framework of the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel (MERCI). MERCI is a consortium of 6 universities and two governmental research institutes, headed by the University of Haifa.
The Israeli delegate for the ECORD Council is Prof. Zvi Ben-Avraham (top right), Head of MERCI and the founding Director of the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa. The Israeli Delegate for ESSAC is Dr Nicolas Waldmann (bottom right), Dr Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Geosciences at the University of Haifa.
Welcome to Poland, the 18th member of ECORD and the 25th member of IODP
Poland joined ECORD on 14 December 2011, when Jerzy Nawrocki, Director of the Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute (PGI-NRI), and Catherine Mével (Director of EMA) signed the ECORD MoU in Warsaw.
Catherine Mével then gave a presentation to Polish scientists interested in developing more contacts with the drilling community in ECORD member countries and internationally. The next IODP mission-specific platform (MSP) expedition will be operated by the ECORD Science Operator (ESO) in the Baltic Sea in 2013, an area of strong interest to Poland. Although most of the PGI-RTI’s marine activities have been conducted in the Baltic Sea, there is a move to expand the scope of marine sciences in Poland and to plan to build a Polish research vessel in the near future. These plans will ensure that Poland will play an active role as a member of ECORD.
ECORD delegates for Poland are Jerzy Nawrocki (PGI-NRI), Council Delegate, and Szymon Uscinowicz (PGI-NRI), ESSAC Delegate.
Belgium and Ireland join ECORD and IODP on 2005
“Belgium and Ireland were members of ODP and unfortunately were not able to join ECORD in the first year of IODP. We are happy to welcome in May 2005. It is good timing as this month, the JOIDES Resolution is drilling the Modern Carbonate Mounds: Porcupine Drilling (IODP Expedition 307). These mounds were the subject of EC-sponsored programmes, in which Belgium and Ireland played a major role. The drilling is the ultimate phase because it allows sub-surface sampling and groundthruthing the interpretation of seismic data. This demonstrates the necessity of ties between EC-funded programmes and IODP to fully address major earth science questions.
Before the JOIDES Resolution sails to the Porcupine Seabight, the portcall in Dublin was an excellent opportunity to advertise IODP to the Irish scientific community and to the public in general.”
Catherine Mével, ECORD Managing Agency Director, May 2005
Press release: Ireland joins international marine research program (NSF, April 27, 2005)
Read also: IODP Ireland web pages and Download published in the ECORD Newsletter #12, April 2009 pdf
IODP Expedition 307 – Modern Carbonate Mounds: Porcupine Drilling, April 25 – May 30, 2005
Overview of Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland, three main mound provinces, Belgica, Hovland and Magellan and the IODP Expedition area in red. © IODP
Location of drill sites 1316, 1317 and 1318 – Challenger Mound in the Belgica mound province © GSI.
ECORD participants in IODP Expedition 307:
Timothy Felderman (MPI Bremen) – Co-chief Scientist, Morten Bjerager (U. Copenhagen), Barry Cragg (Cardiff U.), Ben de Mol (U. Barcelona), Boris Dorschel and Xavier Monteys (GSI), Anneleen Foubert (KU Leuven), Veerle Al Huvenne (NOC, Southampton), Philippe Léonide (U. Provence), Kai Mangelsdorf (GFZ-Potsdam), Juergen Titschack (U. Erlangen-Nuernberg).
Read more about IODP Expedition 307:
IODP Expedition 307 online
IODP Expedition 307 on GSI
IODP Expedition 307 Drills Cold-Water Coral Mound Along the Irish Continental Margin (2006) published in Scientific Drilling, vol. 2
