News Release

Scientific ocean drilling poised to reveal the secrets of the subseafloor for the next decade

Chikyu, Japan's deep sea drilling research vessel, is set to continue to exploring the frontiers of Earth, ocean, and life sciences in the New International Ocean Discovery Program

Business Announcement

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International

Tokyo, Japan- IODP-Management International (IODP-MI) today announced the successful conclusion of the CHIKYU+10 International Workshop held in Tokyo, Japan, from 21-23 April 2013.

The event, convened by the global scientific ocean drilling community and enabled by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, focused on Chikyu's explorations for the next decades in pursuit of new knowledge about Earth's past and innovative research into today's global challenges.

"Chikyu will be a keystone of the IODP endeavor for the next decade and beyond, providing the global research community with the capability to reach deep targets inaccessible by any other scientific platform." says Prof.

Mike Coffin, University of Tasmania, Australia, and Chair of the CHIKYU+10 Steering Committee.

About 400 scientists and engineers from over 20 countries attended the workshop, including senior officials from funding agencies MEXT (Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and NSF (U.S. National Science Foundation), representatives of IODP partners, and scientists from 180 prominent universities and other institutions worldwide. The workshop was hosted by CDEX (Center for Deep Earth Exploration of JAMSTEC) assisted by IODP-MI.

"The Workshop was a landmark success. I saw so many new faces from around the world. Workshop participants clearly consider Chikyu as an international scientific asset." said Kiyoshi Suyehiro, President and C.E.O. of IODP-MI.

Four Co-Chief Scientists of past Chikyu expeditions also made presentations highlighting their teams' research and describing the transformational capabilities Chikyu offers the Earth, ocean, and life sciences communities. Presentations covered not only the first 10 years of successful Chikyu operations, but also Chikyu's continued importance to international scientific ocean drilling research in the next decades.

The workshop focused on five thematic areas identified from short white papers accepted in early 2013: Active Faults, Ocean Crust and Earth's Mantle, Deep Life and Hydrothermal Systems, Continent Formation, and Sediment Secrets.

Thematic discussions highlighted accomplishments of Chikyu's completed expeditions, proposals to use Chikyu's deep riser capability, new ideas submitted from the community, and inspiring keynote talks. Deliberations among researchers will help prioritize projects for Chikyu's next decade of exploration and beyond.

Global climate change, earthquakes, and tsunami generation are some of the most pressing societal research challenges of the 21st century. At the workshop, the scientific community affirmed that Chikyu will continue to play an important role as a key platform for scientific ocean drilling to investigate these phenomena and fundamental questions in Earth, ocean, and life sciences.

###

About IODP:

The current scientific ocean drilling program, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), is an international research program dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of the Earth through drilling, coring, and monitoring the subseafloor. The JOIDES Resolution is a scientific research vessel managed by the US Implementing Organization of IODP (USIO). Chikyu is a scientific drilling vessel operated by JAMSTEC/CDEX (Japan), and mission-specific platforms are supplied by ECORD (the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling). IODP is supported by two lead agencies: the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Additional program support comes from ECORD, the Australian-New Zealand IODP Consortium (ANZIC), India's Ministry of Earth Sciences, the People's Republic of China (Ministry of Science and Technology), the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) in Brazil.

Useful Websites:

For more information about Chikyu+10 Workshop, visit http://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu+10/index.html

For more information about New Program, visit http://www.iodp.org/new-program

For more information about IODP, visit http://www.iodp.org

Media Contact:

Miyuki Otomo
Outreach and Communications Manager
IODP Management International, Inc. (IODP-MI), Tokyo, Japan
motomo@iodp.org
Tel: +81-3-6701-3188


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.