Newsroom

CORVALLIS - The port of Astoria in Oregon will be the site of the inaugural cruise of the new Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, in which the R/V JOIDES Resolution will begin a new era of international scientific ocean drilling for Earth system studies.

The ship will spend eight days in Astoria prior to its launch, including a June 25 open house.

This will be the largest international program studying ocean processes, and builds on the explorations of the Ocean Drilling Program through enhanced collaborations with Japan and a consortium of European countries. Researchers will try to better understand and predict future climate change, geologic hazards such as major earthquakes, the extent of the marine biosphere in the Earth, potential new energy sources, and data on the Earth's environment.

Nick Pisias, a professor of oceanography at OSU and former interim director of the Ocean Drilling Program, said that OSU has been a lead player in ocean drilling programs since its inception.

"OSU has played a key role in ocean drilling through its involvement with science planning, expedition development, and participation in the largest sea-going oceanographic program in the world," said Pisias.

From 1988 to 2004, OSU ranked fifth in direct National Science Foundation funding to support preparations for Ocean Drilling Program expeditions. OSU scientists initiated the planning and execution of six expeditions, and OSU has sailed more co-chief scientists than most other U.S. institutions.

The 469-foot long R/V JOIDES Resolution is 70 feet wide, and uses 12 computer-controlled thrusters and the main propulsion system to position the ship over a drilling site. The vessel can suspend as much as 30,020 feet of drill pipe to an ocean depth of 27,000 feet.

IODP will replace the Ocean Drilling Program. That was a 20-year partnership of scientists and research institutions funded principally by the National Science Foundation and 22 international partners that conducted basic research into the history of the ocean basins and the overall nature of the crust beneath the ocean floor. Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc., a group of 18 U.S. institutions which included OSU, administered the program.

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is funded by the National Science Foundation; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology of Japan; and the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling. Additional information about ODP and IODP may be found on these websites: http://www.oceandrilling.org/ or http://www.ig.utexas.edu/imi/.