News from the Joint Oceanographic Institutions/U.S. Science Support Program associated with the Ocean Drilling Program Fall 2003 Vol. 16, No.

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1 n e w s l e t t e r News from the Joint Oceanographic Institutions/U.S. Science Support Program associated with the Ocean Drilling Program Fall 2003 Vol. 16, No. 2 Welcome IODP! contributed by Steve Bohlen With the stroke of a pen and the touch of a computer key, the U.S. contribution to the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) officially began on September 30, 2003 when Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) signed a ten-year contract with the National Science Foundation (NSF), and NSF committed funds to support the U.S. sponsored non-riser drilling platform. Perhaps this event is best described as another step in a nearly decade-long process leading to the initiation of IODP. However, for the alliance of JOI and its partners, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) and Texas A&M University (TAMU), as well as the U.S. oceans community, the events of 9/30 signaled a new chapter in the most important of geoscience endeavors. The contract signing preceded the official start of IODP on October 1, and allows the U.S. to bring a research vessel on-line by next June. Following the advice of the IODP science planning and operations committees, the first expedition will take place next summer at the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean to study fluids in the oceanic crust. Other expeditions approved at the meeting are: to develop a millennial-scale stratigraphic template (North Atlantic, Sept-Nov 04); to document the conditions under which oceanic core complexes develop [CORE I (Nov 04-Jan 05), CORE II (Jan-March 05)], and to install a CORK to study bottom water temperature [North Atlantic with CORK (March May 05)]. IODP will use the JOIDES Resolution, which will undergo minor improvements, for these expeditions. IODP will continue to use the College of Geosciences, TAMU and TAMRF (subcontractor) Science Services Operational support Technology and engineering support Science laboratory support Information technology Publications Curation Outreach/education JOI (Prime contractor) Program management, leadership, oversight, and outreach/education Figure 1 LDEO of Columbia University (subcontractor) Science Services Technology and engineering support Operational support Information and data bank services Logging services Outreach/education JOIDES Resolution for one to two years, then an enhanced vessel capable of achieving the long-range science and engineering goals of IODP will be acquired, converted, and operated by the Alliance. On the surface, the beginning of IODP seems very similar to ODP one vessel, the JOIDES Resolution, conducting two-month expeditions led by JOI, Lamont, and TAMU. What is new? How will JOI and its partners change in response the challenges of the new drilling program? What will the future bring? With the consummation of contracting formalities, JOI and its partners invite the research community to read our technical proposal to NSF for systems integration of the riserless vessel and related activities in IODP. The proposal is available on the JOI website ( Here, I ll briefly summarize a few of its highlights and offer some ideas about the overall scientific goals of the program and what the future may bring. Management of the U.S. Riserless Drilling Program in IODP To address the new challenges presented by the complexity of a multiplatform program including the essential need for coordination and cooperation among many parties in IODP, JOI and its partners developed the concept of a fully integrated alliance that would function synergistically to deliver a wide variety of services to the U.S. and international ocean drilling communities. The JOI Alliance, depicted in Figure 1, was developed both in response to the needs of the new program and the need for modifica- See IODP, Page 4 INSIDE Early Cenozoic Extreme Climates African Climate Change & Human Evolution IODP Education and Outreach

2 FALL 2003 FEATURES 1 Welcome IODP! 6 ODP Leg 208: Early Cenozoic Extreme Climates by Steve Bohlen by Jim Zachos 9 Searching for Impacts on ODP Leg 207 by Christy Glatz 10 U.S.-IODP Education Workshop by Al Hine and Jill Whitman Capitol Hill DEPARTMENTS 12 Linking African Climate Change to Human Evolution by Peter demenocal 16 A (JOIful) Year in Washington, DC by Tony Goodman 18 Middle America Seismogenic Zone Workshop by Roland von Huene and Kevin Brown 2 Drill Bits Capitol Hill Final Port Calls The Arctic 14 Announcements 17 ODP in the News 20 Fellowship Profiles: Joan Steurer Maria Prokopenko 24 NSF Report 26 Letter from the Chair 27 USSAC Members 22 GeoSCAN Workshop Years of Ocean by Nathan Bangs Drill Bits Drillships The Skinny on ODP the members of EXCOM, ODP Council, and USODP scientists consac to share stories verged in Washington with the scientific parties in June for an event and crew. Bermudians highlighting a variety of learned abodiscoveries made by ut ODP, as co-chief Peter ODP. As part of Capitol Keleman and staff scienhill Oceans Week, JOI/ tist Jay Miller led a press USSSP and ODP held a conference and tours for reception attended by the local scientists and more than 100 scientists government representaand policymakers. At the tives, including Bermuda reception, David Smith, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI); Barbara Peichel, NOAA Fellow for Senator Akaka; Shirley Fiske, Governor Sir John Vereker University of Rhode Legislative Assistant for Senator Akaka; and Steve Bohlen, President of JOI at the Capitol Hill Event. Island; Andy Fisher, University of California, as did JOI President Steven Bohlen and Na- and Lady Vereker. Santa Cruz; Richard Norris, Scripps Institution tional Marine Sanctuary Foundation Executive of Oceanography; Sarah Sherman, University Director Lori Arguelles. Prior to the reception, During the final port call in St. John s, of Hawaii; and John Tarduno, University of these scientists visited their congressional Newfoundland, JOI collaborated with CanRochester presented posters illustrating representatives and staff, conveying the im- adaodp to hold scientific and celebratory events. Leg 210 co-chiefs Brian Tucholke and their research. The topics of these posters portance of scientific ocean drilling. Jean-Claude Sibuet and staff scientist Adam ranged from climate change to microbiolklaus led a press conference for representaogy to underwater landslides and tsunamis. Final Port Calls Mary Reagan and Stuart Robinson, Lamont The final two port calls of ODP provided tives from all the media outlets in St. John s Doherty Earth Observatory, Tom Davies and many opportunities for celebration. In Ber- and ODP staff led tours for more than 100 loadam Klaus, Texas A&M University, and JOI muda, JOI/ODP held a picnic near the ship cal scientists. Tucholke spoke about the findstaff presented program highlights. Senator honoring the JOIDES Resolution crew and ings of Leg 210 in a talk titled, Drilling results Daniel Akaka (D-HI) spoke at the reception, ODP scientific advisory panels, allowing from the deep sedimentary basin east of the 2 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

3 Grand Banks, to a full house at Memorial University. The festivities were capped off with a party at O Reilly s Irish Pub, complete with local dishes and music before the JOIDES Resolution headed to Galveston, dodging hurricanes, for demobilization. The achievements of ODP will be celebrated with the scientifi c community at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Keir Becker and Nick Pisias are leading a Union Session on the contributions of 20 years of scientifi c ocean drilling, and JOI staff are organizing a celebration dinner to be held on the night of Sunday, December 7, in conjunction with the meeting. The Arctic On October 29-30, an Arctic Scoping Group (ASG), sanctioned by the IODP Science Advisory Structure, specifi cally the Operations Committee (OPCOM) and the Science Planning Committee (SPC), met in Edinburgh, Scotland with representatives and affi liates from the ECORD Science Operator (ESO), lead proponents, and guests. The purpose of the meeting was to examine the planning history and procedure, operational and project plans, risk assessment, and associated costs in association with implementing a coring expedition to the high Arctic s Lomonosov Ridge (proposal 533-Full3). The overarching scientifi c objective of the expedition is to reconstruct the fi rst Cenozoic paleoceanographic history of the Arctic. In brief, the assessment was positive. The ASG has every expectation that progress will be achieved in a timely manner and recommends [IODP goes] forward with implementation of this expedition. This recommendation was approved by OPCOM and then by the SPC. The ESO will soon name co-chief scientists, and is currently in the midst of developing contractual agreements for vessels, a drill rig, and other equipment and services. The project will include an offshore expedition during next August and September followed by an onshore component where the cores will be shipped to a repository at the University of Bremen, Germany, where they will be split, described, measured, and sampled during the fall. ASG Keir Becker, University of Miami (chairman) Mike Coffi n, University of Tokyo (OPCOM) Ocean Geosciences Lectures The JOI/USSAC Distinguished Lecturer Series brings the results of ODP/IODP research to students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and to the earth science community in general. JOI/USSSP is pleased to announce its list of lecturers and locations for 2003/04: Dr. Ruth Blake, Yale Univ. The Deep Biosphere: Microbes in the Mud Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI University of Missouri - Kansas City, MO Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, OH Old Dominion University - Norfolk, VA University of North Carolina - Wilmington, NC Huston-Tillotson College - Austin, TX Dr. Paul Wallace, Univ. of Oregon Formation and Environmental Effects of Giant Oceanic Plateaus University of Idaho - Moscow, ID Northern Illinois University - DeKalb, IL University of Texas at Dallas - Dallas, TX Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN University of Florida - Gainesville, FL Dr. Fred Frey, Mass. Inst. of Tech. Formation of the Kerguelen Large Igneous Province, Gondwana Breakup, Lost Continents, and Growth of the Indian Ocean University of Rhode Island - Narragansett Bay, RI Colby College - Waterville, ME Purdue University - West Lafayette, IN University of Rochester - Rochester, NY Florida Institute of Technology - Miami, FL The Lecturers Dr. Julia Morgan, Rice Univ. Marine Sediments go to Prism University of Southern California - Los Angeles, CA Utah State University - Logan, UT Penn State University - University Park, PA Duke University - Durham, NC University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN Dr. Mitchell Lyle, Boise State Univ. The Pacifi c Ocean and Climatic Change, from Eocene Extreme Warmth to Pleistocene Glacial Cycles Mills College - Oakland, CA SE Missouri State University - Cape Girardeau, MO University of Connecticut - Storrs, CT University of Maryland - College Park, MD University of Arkansas - Fayetteville, AR Dr. Steven Clemens, Brown Univ. Solar Forcing or Climate System Feedbacks: Who s the Boss of Plio- Pleistocene Variations in Asian Monsoon Strength? Boise State - Boise, ID Ohio State University - Columbus, OH Lafayette College - Easton, PA Montclair State University - Upper Montclair, NJ Georgia State University - Atlanta, GA Distinguished Lecturer Series USSSP will be accepting applications until April, 2004 from U.S. colleges, universities, and non-profi t organizations to host talks given by the speakers listed below for the season. The lecture topics and applications will be available online in January 2004 ( For more information, contact Margo Cortes. ( x224, mcortes@joiscience.org) Marta Torres, Oregon State Univ. Mark Leckie, Univ. of Massachusetts Jerry McManus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Lecturers Martin Hovland, Statoil Dave Huey, Stress Engineering Services, Inc. Tom Janecek, Florida State University Uwe Pahl, Master, Polarstern Uko Suzuki, JAMSTEC Ellen Thomas, Wesleyan Univ. K.C. Lohmann, Univ. of Michigan Kevin Brown, Scripps Institute of Oceanography Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 3

4 IODP News IODP, from Page 1 tions based on what has worked well in ODP and what has not. For IODP to be successful, four organizations IMI (IODP Management International), CDEX (Center for Deep Earth Exploration, the implementing organization within JAMSTEC), the ECORD (European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling) Science Operator, and the JOI Alliance must function well together. On the basis of this imperative, leaders at JOI, Lamont, and TAMU concluded that much closer coordination and cooperation, and greater interaction through team approaches to high-level management and operational decision-making were essential to the success of the US program in IODP. Enhanced science services will be delivered by six teams, each of which is designed to focus on priority areas for JOI Alliance performance (Figure 2). Appropriate individuals from the Alliance institutions will lead these teams (see proposal for greater details). Responsibilities of teams will range from strategic planning and systems integration performance (JOI Alliance Systems Integration Team) to developing cutting edge technology beneficial to the science mission of IODP (Joint Technical Development Team) to managing the delivery of all required publications and reports for the riserless drilling program and to communicating scientific discoveries arising from the riserless drilling program through public relations and EMA TAMU/ TAMRF Drilling vessel IMI SOC JOI/USIO LDEO Logging contractor Figure 3 POC NSF education and outreach (Joint Report, Publications, Outreach/Education, and Public Relations Team). Mindful that integrated performance is the key to the success of IODP, yet aware of the potential problems of the team approach, the Alliance teams are designed to be small and to focus on priorities and outcomes. The team approach will be supported by clear and well-defined contracting relationships with clear lines of authority and responsibility (Figure 3). The focus of the JOI Alliance is the constellation of stakeholders in IODP (Figure 4). Integration of MEXT Logging Consortium POC = Platform operation costs SOC = Science operation costs Functions Vessel procure, outfit, operate Operational support Science laboratories Engineering support Logging and site surveys Information technology Curation Outreach/ education Safety and environment Publications activities through joint decision-making and priority setting is essential if the riserless program is to perform well in the framework of the larger and more complicated IODP. Furthermore, the Alliance must be well coordinated to effectively serve the many stakeholders depicted in Figure 4. Ultimately, assessments by these stakeholders and performance management committees made up Alliance management teams Oversight (JASIT) Programmatic accountability (JASMT) Operations (JOT) Technical development (JTDT) Information (JIT) Publications, outreach/ education (JREPORT) Figure 2 Alliance characteristics Leadership Science community interaction Operational knowledge Management experience and capability Shore-based facilities/support Educational and intellectual resources Financial commitment Institutional goal synergy Diversity and best business practice of community leaders will establish external benchmarks for the success of the Alliance approach. As outlined in the JOI Alliance proposal, we have set high standards and will seek community involvement often as we assess our performance, priorities, and science delivery. Education and Research Initiatives in Support of IODP In addition to its new and more open approaches to management of the riserless program, the JOI Alliance, via very substantial financial commitments by Lamont and TAMU, will wrap the operational aspects science delivery for IODP in robust educational and research initiatives. These educational and research efforts, called LODOS (Laboratory for Ocean Drilling, Observation, and Sampling) and ODASES (Ocean Drilling and Sustainable Earth Science) at Lamont and TAMU respectively, are designed to marry strategic mission objectives of these institutions with the science imperatives of IODP (Figure 5) and to interact with the operational aspects of the program to enhance science delivery for all of IODP. Lamont will fund new postdoc positions and faculty support, educational and outreach efforts, 4 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

5 IODP News and telecommunications facilities in support of LODOS. TAMU will fund an endowed chair, five new faculty positions in five departments (to be matched with five positions from each of the departments), five new graduate assistant fellowships, education and outreach initiatives, visualization, immersive imaging and telecommunications facilities, all in support of ODASES. The JOI Alliance Systems Integration Team will be responsible JAMSTEC EMA for the synergistic development of these initiatives to enhance IODP science delivery and achievement. Whither IODP Science programs are most productive when their goals are well formulated. Similarly, organizations function best under a well defined mission and a clear set of priorities. The Initial Science Plan (ISP) for IODP ( has received high praise in articulating the science priorities of IODP. What is less clearly identified in the ISP and supporting documents are the specific goals of the program. Understanding these is not merely an aca- Columbia University Institutions Earth Institute Center for Earth Science Information Borehole Research Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Instrument Laboratory and Engineering Data Bank Laboratory for Ocean Drilling, Observation, and Sampling LODOS NSF Direction and resources Direction and resources Information and coordination Information and coordination Industry Direction and resources Advice JOI is the communication link Shared lines of communication Serves as liaison Research Themes Hydrogeology Biogeoscience Biology Climate Change Alternate Energy Margin Dynamics Figure 5 IMI JOI Alliance Advice Coordination and information resources Figure 4 SAS Liaison Texas A&M University Colleges Geosciences Engineering Visualization Ocean Drilling Advice Other major U.S. science institutions Science Education Energy Engineering Digital Library/ Telecommunications Ocean Drilling and Sustainable Earth Science ODASES Liaison Information demic exercise because the focus and priority-setting of the implementing organizations and the central management office (IMI) of IODP depend on a clear understanding of what the goals are and what outcomes are desired. To stimulate discussion, and to establish a dialogue on this important topic, I offer a short list of goals that I believe should guide the activities of IODP management and those from the science community involved in the program. These are: 1. Create new knowledge and understanding of the Earth s deep biosphere, environmental change, and solid Earth cycles and U.S. federal agencies USSAC U.S. public outreach/ education geodynamics. 2. Develop new avenues of research through partnerships with biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers, and social scientists. 3. Connect ocean drilling with national and international science initiatives. 4. Develop a new generation of leaders in the ocean sciences. 5. Create an ocean science literate society. To be sure, these goals extend beyond IODP and can only be achieved with the support of many national programs (such as the U.S. Science Support Program and its equivalents in other countries) designed to support IODP. In the end, the research community may decide that these goals need revision. For the moment, a case can be made that these are important goals for this international program, and that the JOI Alliance is committed to supporting these goals in creative, appropriate ways. I present these goals to stimulate discussion and comment and to underscore that the JOI Alliance is thinking creatively and holistically about the program from innovative science services, to educational and research initiatives, to connections with other science programs, to meeting the needs to society, to securing the future. The management challenges of IODP are significant and societal expectations of major science programs are broad and high. The JOI Alliance has organized for success in this environment. We look forward to serving the international science community in helping to lead IODP. The Author Steve Bohlen is the President of Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc., Washington, DC. Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 5

6 Site Augmentation ODP Leg 208: Early Cenozoic Extreme Climates contributed by Jim Zachos In March 2003, Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 208 returned to the Walvis Ridge in the southeast Atlantic Ocean where previous drilling (Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 74) had recovered pelagic oozes and chalk spanning the Cretaceous-Tertiary, Paleocene-Eocene, and Eocene-Oligocene boundaries (Moore, 1984). The primary objective of Leg 208 was 1267) on the northern flank of the Walvis Ridge should provide a detailed history of paleoceanographic variation associated with several prominent episodes of Cenozoic climate change including the Paleocene- Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; a.k.a. the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum). For each event, cores taken along a bathymetric tranas much as 2000 gigatons of marine methane hydrate. Numerical modeling demonstrates that the injection of such a large mass of carbon into the ocean/atmosphere would have increased seawater acidity, triggering a rapid (~10 kyr) global shoaling of the calcite compensation depth (CCD) and lysocline. A gradual recovery, and overcompensation Figure 1. Area of Leg 208 operations on Walvis Ridge. RV Meteor track-lines cross existing DSDP Leg 74 and ODP Leg 208 sites. White circles represent proposed primary and alternate sites. to recover cores from multiple holes along a transect of sites spanning a wide range of water depths, from which we could reconstruct continuous high-resolution records of these critical transitions. Sequences recovered from six sites (1262- sect constrain depth-dependent changes in seawater chemistry, benthic biota, and circulation associated with extreme climatic shifts. In particular, the depth-transect will enable us to test the leading hypothesis for the cause of the PETM and the associated carbon isotope excursion the abrupt dissociation of with the CCD overshooting pre-excursion depths would have followed (Dickens et al., 1997; Dickens et al., 1995). The Survey Recovering a sediment layer, which was less than one- to two-meters thick and contrast- 6 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

7 The survey results coupled with existing core data tentatively established the depths and ages of key regional reflectors and sedimentary packages including the P-E boundary. Its burial depth proved to be critical in terms of our success in recovering the boundary layer intact. At Site 1263, the P-E boundary was recovered, but not without great effort. To construct a stratigraphically continuous composite section at each site, we had to core two to three holes and correlate detailed measurements of physical properties on the recovered core material. We con- ducted coring with the Advance Piston Corer (APC), with the Extended Core Barrel (XCB) used in the deeper sections. Our experience at Site 1263 affected the coring strategy we used at the remaining sites, because we discovered that to recover an intact boundary layer, the APC was required. Given the regional lithology, this meant targeting locations where the boundary layer could be reached at subbottom depth of less than 280 mbsf, and preferably less than 250 mbsf, where changes in the sediment stiffness necessitated use of the XCB. Of the remaining primary sites, this condition was met only at the deepest site leading to several modifications to the drill plan. In the vicinity of Figure 2. Sites 1263 (WALV-8E) and 1264 (WALV-8B) on line Site 528, for example, Geo B seismic lines revealed only one area where the boundary layer reflectors, on the other hand, are distinct and might be shallow enough for APC, in a chan- orderly suggesting that channel activity was nel upslope from DSDP Site 528 (Figure 2). initiated well after these sediments were Ironically, this was the type of area we were deposited. As such, we located Site 1266 initially trying to avoid because of erosion in this region. Again, despite some techniand downslope transport. Indeed, in the cal difficulties, the clay layer was recovered seismics, the upper package of reflectors is intact at 270 mbsf by APC. ing in sediment physical properties from its host-sediment, from five sites spanning water depths of 2.4 to 4.8 km proved to be an exceptionally challenging exercise. During Leg 74, the Paleocene-Eocene (P-E) boundary and other critical intervals were not retrieved from all sites, in large part because of poor core recovery by the rotary coring system and single-hole coring with the then first-tested hydraulic piston coring system, but also because of local unconformities. The unconformities, which appear erosional, were most common in the Eocene and Oligocene sediments, and the outcome of the Leg 208 cruise hinged on identifying locations where the P-E boundary layer would be present and recoverable at shallow burial depths. To identify appropriate sites, new high-resolution seismic data were needed and, to this end, a multi-channel seismic survey, partially funded with a JOI/USSSP site augmentation award, was conducted by the RV Meteor (Cruise M49/) during the winter of 2001 (Spieß, 2003). The main survey grid (Figure 1) focused on an area of Walvis Ridge and the Angola Basin northeast of the Leg 74 sites, away from a large channel dissecting the ridge. The survey also investigated several isolated bathymetric highs where the effects of downslope sediment transport might be minimal. chaotic and truncated. The lower Paleogene Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 7

8 Figure 3. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) and wt% CaCO 3 through the Paleocene-Eocene transition for the five Leg 208 sites plotted versus sub-bottom depth along photographs of the cores. The MS graphs represent both spliced-core point magnetic susceptibility (PMS) data measured by the archive multisensor track (AMST) and whole-core MS data from the multi-sensor track (MST). For correlation of these two methods, 1-cm-resolution PMS data were linearly interpolated to 2.5-cm resolution, after which a linear expansion formula was calculated and PMS values were normalized to MS values. In the end, despite the technical challenges, Leg 208 recovered fully intact P-E boundary sequences at five sites over a depth transect of 2.2 km, as well as a complete Neogene sequence at a single site near the ridge crest (Site 1264). Multiple copies of the P- E boundary were recovered at four of the sites. The boundary sequence is marked by a deep red clay layer imbedded with light colored nannofossil oozes (Figure 3). The clay-rich (0% carbonate) layer increases in thickness from the shallowest to the deepest site. The basal color contact is relatively sharp with carbonate content dropping to 0% at all sites, whereas the upper contact is gradational in the shallow sites and relatively sharp in the deeper sites. The temporal and spatial patterns are consistent with the notion that the CCD shoaled rapidly, and then recovered slowly as chemical-weathering feedbacks sequestered CO 2 and restored carbonate equilibria within the ocean. These Leg 208 P-E boundary cores will be key in constraining the approximate timing and scale of the ocean carbon chemistry changes, and in documenting impacts on regional biota. For example, preliminary findings suggest that at that time the severe carbonate dissolution that occurred over such a wide depth range may have also contributed to a major extinction of benthic foraminifera. A final important contribution by Leg 208 is the recovery of a complete Paleocene section between the Cretaceous Paleocene boundary and the Paleocene- Eocene boundary at Sites 1262 and 1267, as well as several extended lower Eocene sections showing marked cyclic variations in magnetic susceptibility and color. The recovery of these sections will make it possible to expand the orbitally tuned time scale far into the early Cenozoic. References Dickens, G. R., et al. Geology, 25, , Dickens, G. R., et al. Paleoceanography, 10, , Moore, T. C. J., et al., (Ed.), U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, Spieß, V., et al., Report and preliminary results of Meteor Cruise M49/1 Cape Town (South Africa) Montevideo (Uruguay) , Berichte, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universitat Bremen, No. 205, 57 pp, Bremen, The Author Jim Zachos, University of California, Santa Cruz, was a co-chief scientist on ODP Leg 208, Walvis Ridge. 8 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

9 Undergraduate Student Trainee Program Searching for Impacts on ODP Leg 207 contributed by Christy Glatz Upon arriving and seeing the JOIDES Resolution for the first time, I was in absolute shock at the enormity of the ship. I couldn t believe how lucky I was to be spending the next two months aboard this vessel in the equatorial Atlantic while my friends were experiencing an extremely brutal Maine winter. And, as it turned out, I loved every minute of it. As an Undergraduate Student Trainee, I sailed aboard the Resolution on Leg 207 from January to March of We transitted from Bridgetown, Barbados to about 300 miles off the coast of Suriname, where we drilled the Demerara Rise. At the time of the traineeship, I was a senior undergraduate at the University of Maine, Orono majoring in geology with a concentration in oceanic impact crater processes, impact tsunamis, and their effects on the seafloor. I applied for the traineeship, in part, to better understand the processes involved in the collection of sediment cores which are so vital to my work, but also to see, firsthand, the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary sediments that Leg 207 would recover. slides. On the cruise we collected chalks, oozes, shales, and limestones; and saw tempestites, fish fossils, large debris flows, and both the Paleocene/Eocene and K/T boundaries. Describing the sediments was exciting because I was using and applying knowledge learned from my geology classes in college. My favorite memory from the cruise was seeing the K/T boundary sediment for the first time. The boundary was a centimeter and a half of layered spherule beds. I was finally able to see, right in front of me, what I had been reading about for the past year. On the ship we slept four to a room, worked twelve-hour shifts seven days a week, and saw the same people everyday. Having the night shift, I was able to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean every morning. I saw dolphins, flying fish, and Mahi-Mahi for the first time; experienced the inter-tropical convergence zone; and became an official shellback when we crossed the equator. When not working, we could watch movies, exercise, read, or just relax on the steel beach. There was never a dull moment on the JOIDES Resolution! The Undergraduate Student Trainee Program offered by JOIDES and supported by the U.S. Science Support Program is excellent. The experience, knowledge, and memories I gained on the ship are invaluable. I would encourage anyone interested in pursuing a career in marine geology to apply for future opportunities. Since graduation, I have been interning at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and conducting grain size analysis from previous ODP cruises as well as working on pollution history studies. But, in the near future, when I enter graduate school, I hope to continue to study the K/T boundary sediments that so enthralled me on Leg 207. After arriving at the ship and settling into our rooms, the science party regrouped for a series of introductory meetings. As I listened to the scientists discuss the cruise objectives and work duties, I became very intimidated and wondered what I had gotten myself into. After the first day of work, however, my fellow sedimentologists alleviated all my worries and questions. They quickly took me under their wing and helped me learn the ins and outs of core description. While on board, I formed many great friendships with both scientists and the ship s crew. As a sedimentologist aboard the Resolution, my duties included describing the color, composition, type and degree of bioturbation of the sediment core, and making smear JOIDES Undergraduate Student Trainee Christy Glatz, University of Maine - Orono, describes sediment cores on ODP Leg 207 Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 9

10 Workshop Report U.S.-IODP Education Workshop contributed by Al Hine and Jill Whitman Bridging the gap between specialized researchers and the general public is essential to conveying the implications and importance of science in daily life, making education and outreach integral components of scientific research programs. In recognition of scientific ocean drilling s great potential as an educational resource, the U.S. Science Advisory Committee (USSAC) and the Conference on U.S. Participation in IODP (CUSP) (JOI/USSAC Newsletter, Fall 2002) recommended that a workshop be held to develop an effective U.S.-focused educational strategy for the future Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). In response, JOI/USSSP organized a workshop to open a dialog among a range of experts. Guided by a steering committee, USSAC members Al Hine and Jill Whitman cochaired the U.S.-IODP Education Workshop, which was held May 6-7, 2003 at the Narragansett Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island. Seventy-five participants representing the scientific drilling community, geoscience/marine educators, agency representatives, science communicators, formal educators, and foundation/corporate representatives gathered to discuss educational activities appropriate for IODP and the successor to the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP-IODP). The three primary workshop goals were to: 1) Establish a U.S. vision and goals for education and outreach activities for IODP; 2) Identify U.S. educational products, activities, and opportunities appropriate for IODP; and 3) Identify strategies to implement the recommended educational activities for IODP. The workshop featured four breakout groups defined by targeted audiences: K-8 th grade students, 9-12 th grade students, undergraduate-graduate students, and informal/public education. Two facilitators, one from the scientific ocean drilling community and the other from the education and outreach community, led each group. The breakout groups addressed a suite of questions focusing on how their respective educational categories could benefit from IODP. The workshop produced the following vision and mission statements: Vision Statement As an integral part of a future U.S. scientific support program for IODP, education will increase awareness and understanding of ocean drilling science and technology and make a positive sustainable impact on science education and society. Mission Statement Education is integral to the new U.S. scientific support program for IODP. It will foster scientific investigation and understanding through provision of high-quality materials and experiential opportunities that share ocean drilling science discoveries, ideas, data, and concepts on earth history and process as seen through ocean drilling in ways that promote inquiry-based learning at all levels. Two key points emerging from workshop discussions were that: 1) it is important for IODP and USSSP-IODP to show a strong commitment to education, and 2) this commitment should be integral from the very beginning of both new programs. Clear workshop consensus was that IODP educational activities should highlight scientific ocean drilling s unique aspects and maximize the incredible opportunities that scientists/educators have to develop educational products/activities/ opportunities within a IODP s scientifically broad research agenda. It was widely agreed that the new educational and outreach program should focus on certain areas of ocean drilling science that have a strong connection to the human element and interests: Earth s history and dynamic present, specialized IODP technology, the intricacies of work at sea, the international collaboration among scientists, the geographical scope of IODP research, and the vast store of scientific data. Students of all ages are more likely to be drawn to an educational program that emphasizes these aspects of ocean drilling. Dedication to satisfying and building on the interests of the public will also contribute to IODP s leadership in the science education and outreach community. The breakout groups recommended strategies specific to their respective educational categories for IODP education and outreach, and seven overarching themes emerged: 1. Staffing Many fulltime positions (approximately 3.5 FTEs) dedicated to education and outreach are required to do full justice to IODP s educational and outreach potential, however, an educational program must first be defined before specifically assigning staff. These persons will need a background in both education and science in order to effectively interface between the education and ocean drilling communities. Included among these positions should be: 1) a web support person; and 2) a person to seek additional partnership and funding opportunities to support educational endeavors. 2. Material/Content There is a need to develop educational content and produce hands-on and interactive materials that can be circulated to a much wider audience than is currently being reached by ODP. A few examples of these materials include: displays traveling and permanent; classroom kits of samples, material (photos, thin sections), and data; curricula to accompany the kits as well as to be used independently; media and educational resources (videos, ship-to-shore links); and thematic syntheses of scientific ocean 10 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

11 75 participants gathered at the Narragansett Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island on May 6 and 7 for the U.S.-IODP Education Workshop. drilling results. Thus, before the production of new materials commences, there is a need for IODP to organize and synthesize its findings by scientific theme, in order to transform scientific results into understandable and valuable education and outreach materials 3. Professional Development/ Teacher Preparation It is vital to provide opportunities for teachers and educational professionals to learn more about the science of ocean drilling and the materials available to them. This can be done through professional development and teacher preparation workshops, courses, and summer institutes. Such activities could be developed by the USSSP-IODP program or be accomplished through partnerships with existing programs. In particular, developing opportunities for research experiences at sea and shore will offer fewer opportunities but higher impact exposure. 4. K-20 Student Experiences Offering opportunities for students of a wide range of ages to participate in hands-on activities and research is essential to create an informed and science literate society. ODP and USSSP have provided many such opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, through such programs as the Distinguished Lecture Series and the Schlanger Fellowship. These programs should be continued and expanded. New student opportunities should also be created to broaden the audience that is impacted (REU experiences, summer institutes, and internships). 5. Partnerships Partnerships are vital to the success of the educational endeavors of USSSP-IODP. Teachers, scientists, students, and science education professionals and researchers will need to work side-by-side throughout the program. Many existing organizations can partner with the USSSP-IODP and these partners will be able to play varied and complementary roles in different efforts. There are many opportunities for collaboration with existing programs as well as opportunities to identify new and innovative partnerships. 6. Web site A USSSP-IODP staff position that is dedicated to the educational component of the web presence for IODP is needed. This person s responsibility would be to develop and maintain an easily accessible web site that provides data in usable format to a variety of different audiences: teachers (formal and informal), students, scientists, and the public. It is very important that the past data as well as the new IODP data be accessed and/or managed in a way similar to other scientific data sets that are available for educational purposes. 7. Assessment Assessment of educational products, activities and/or opportunities is essential and must be integrated into programs from their beginning. The assessment must be developed and implemented by professional evaluators and must consider the program internally and externally. The success of the educational efforts will be evaluated in terms of whether or not they meet program goals. The U.S.-IODP Education workshop provided a strong rationale for the importance of the educational component of IODP. It established some guidelines and objectives for the implementation of education activities and suggested strategies for meeting those objectives. The U.S.-IODP community has the ability to tap the enormous potential of science education within the realm of scientific ocean drilling and is strongly urged to collaborate with the education community to do so. The full workshop report is available at: education.html. The Authors Both Al Hine, University of South Florida, and Jill Whitman, Pacific Lutheran University, are members of the U.S. Science Advisory Committee (USSAC). Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 11

12 Site Augmentation Linking African Climate Change to Human Evolution contributed by Peter demenocal Climate & Faunal Evolution In 1925, Raymond Dart first proposed the Savannah Hypothesis, which suggested that key human attributes such as increased brain size, tool-making, and bipedality were consequences of a more open veldt country where competition was keener between swiftness and stealth, and where adroitness of thinking and movement played a prepondering role in the preservation of the species. The basic premise of this climate-evolution hypothesis is that persistent shifts in climate can alter the ecological landscape that, in turn, presents faunal adaptation or speciation pressures leading to opportunities for genetic selection and innovation. Dart s early and rather simplified view has now been recast in terms of understanding the faunal consequences of the step-like and recurrent, periodic (orbital) climate shifts that we believe punctuated the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Northeast African paleoclimate history and the paleoceanography of the Gulf of Aden region have been tentatively linked to important African faunal evolutionary events, including the emergence of our genus Homo. The Pliocene-Pleistocene evolution of African mammalian taxa (including antelopes, pigs, rodents, and early hominids) contains several intervals where first and last appearance datums are exceptionally concentrated. The broad correlation between these faunal turnover events and known increases in African aridity for example near 2.8 Ma has produced several hypotheses linking African faunal and climate change. Testing these climate-evolution hypotheses requires improved geological records of faunal evolution in Africa and African climate and vegetation, as recorded in deep-sea sediments. Important recent fossil discoveries and new analysis of extant collections have greatly improved our knowledge of the fossil record. However, due to the lack of sampling and studies, the history of African climate and vegetation variability is poorly constrained despite significant developments in geochemical methods (such as using molecular biomarker compounds) to reconstruct paleovegetation changes, and in geochemical provenance tracers of eolian transport. Deep-sea sediments accumulating in the Gulf of Aden offer the most promising sequences for reconstructing Late Neogene changes in African climate because of their... a more open veldt country where competition was keener between swiftness and stealth, and where adroitness of thinking and movement played a prepondering role in the preservation of species. - Raymond Dart, 1925 proximity to the northeast African peninsula and its associated fossil record. Linking terrestrial and marine sediment sequences is challenging; however, Kenyan and Ethiopian volcanoes have been active throughout the late Neogene and widely dispersed tephra layers are a primary means to date the fossil record both directly and indirectly. These same tephra layers can be identified in Gulf of Aden sediments, and therefore serve as a link between the terrestrial fossil and marine paleoclimate records. Searching for Answers On May 18, 2001, the Dutch research vessel Pelagia left the port of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania for Port Said, Egypt to embark upon a five-month multileg, circumnavigation of the African continent. Sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW) and a site augmentation award from JOI/USSSP, Gerald Ganssen (Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) and Peter de- Menocal (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)) led a 21-day leg of the voyage. The primary scientific objective of the leg was to understand the modern oceanographic and biologic processes of the monsoonal system as expressed in the Gulf of Aden and to reconstruct its natural variation through time. As a cruise of opportunity, sediment cores and site survey data were also collected to augment the IODP proposal (575-Full3). This proposal aims to recover late Neogene sedimentary packages from eight sites in the Gulf of Aden to reconstruct gulf paleoceanography, northeast African paleoclimate, and links to African faunal evolution records. Relatively little is known about the sediments in the region, as the most recent drilling here was DSDP Leg 24 nearly thirty years ago. The Gulf of Aden is a narrow sedimented rift basin situated between Somalia and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The region is arid to semi-arid and is greatly influenced by the Indian monsoon and its control of regional winds and rainfall. During the summer months when the South Asian continent heats up more quickly than the Indian Ocean, strong southwest winds blow along the East African coast, carrying ocean moisture which feeds the summer monsoon rains over southern Asia. Upwelling occurs within the Gulf of Aden, but it is modest compared to the intense upwelling centers off coastal Yemen and Somalia. During the winter, the winds reverse and strong, cool northeast trade winds prevail. 12 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

13 18º Preliminary radiocarbon dates indicate that Holocene sedimentation rates at southwestern core sites BC-12 16º and BC-15 (Figure 1) were high. Both cores contain well-preserved benthic and planktonic 14º foraminiferal assemblages, and benthic abundances at BC-12 were particularly high. 12º 14 Sedimentation rates were elevated due to clay-rich hemipelagic deposition. Very high sedimentation rates 10º at site BC-15, located on the southern flank of the Tadjura Trench, were particularly encouraging as this site was cored last in 1947 by the Swedish Albatross expedition. There were indications that the site had high accumulation rates, however, the published site coordinates were imprecise making relocation difficult. After nearly six hours of surveying (the Pelagia was equipped only with a 3.5 khz system), we discovered a small perched basin on the ridge crest that matched the original site description and we recovered a 50-cm box core and a 9.6-m piston core. This site will be particularly valuable for high-resolution paleoceanographic studies because it is one of the only high-accumulation rate sites in the region. During the cruise we also collected plankton tow and surface water samples every six hours to examine regional trends in surface ocean chemistry and foram chemistry along the entire cruise track. While in the Gulf of Aden, two sediment trap moorings were deployed which continue to collect weekly samples documenting changes in surface ocean productivity associated with the monsoon. In addition, aerosol samples were 42º 44º 46º 48º 50º 52º 54º 56º 18º 13 Box cores Piston cores Yemen 8, 9, 10, 11 7 Somalia 42º 44º 46º 48º 50º 52º 54º 56º Figure 1 R/V Pelagia 178, April - May, 2001 taken regularly to monitor windborne dust fluxes, and detailed temperature and salinity (CTD) profiles of the Gulf of Aden were conducted along its NE-SW axis to document the surface and deep-water characteristics of this basin. In January 2001, a Japanese-led research cruise (H. Fujimoto and K. Tamaki) completed multichannel seismic surveys and coring at several of the Gulf of Aden drilling sites in the IODP proposal (575-Full3) to bolster site survey information for the proposal. Coupled with these results, the Pelagia cruise results will significantly enhance our understanding of sedimentation patterns and paleoceanographic signatures in this otherwise datapoor region. Pirates The Pelagia cruise was not without adventure The first leg of the cruise from Dares-Salaam, round the Horn of Africa passed through waters known to harbor pirates who attack slower moving vessels (such as ours) º 14º 12º 10º During most of a weeklong transit we sailed well offshore under radio silence with the ship s lights switched to dim red emergency lighting during the evenings. Daily updates of pirate activity streamed in by fax. Of the several incidents reported during the transit, a few were located very near to our proposed coring locations. Geopolitical tensions were also running high: one month after our cruise LDEO s R/V Ewing was attacked by a rocket grenade in the same region and three months later came the events of September 11th. The remarkable skill and professionalism of our captain and crew allowed us to complete the cruise without major incident. However, we were eventually overcome and boarded by hordes of shifty trinket sellers as we steamed into Port Said, Egypt ( kindly have a look at this plastic Sphinx pen set for your desk? ). The Author Peter demenocal, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. 1 Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 13

14 a n n o u n c Apply to Sail in IODP! Information for U.S. Participation in IODP Expeditions Until NSF names an awardee for the U.S. Science Support Program for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (USSSP-IODP), JOI, which continues to manage the USSSP-ODP, will serve as the National Office for U.S. participation in IODP. As such, JOI will coordinate staffing of U.S. participants on IODP vessels. Texas A&M University, which formerly coordinated U.S. staffing for ODP cruises, will no longer accept applications from U.S. community members. To learn more about IODP, see and Who can apply? USSSP-IODP sponsored participation on IODP expeditions is open to scientists or engineers (professors, research scientists, technologists, graduate students, etc.) affiliated with U.S. institutions (U.S. academic institutions, government labs, U.S.-based corporations, etc.). USSSP-IODP will provide travel and salary support to approved members of the scientific expedition party eligible to receive such support. Party members may also be qualified to apply to JOI for USSSP-IODP post-expedition science research funding, in order to meet their obligations to IODP as members of the expedition party. Non-U.S. affiliated personnel from other IODP member countries should apply for IODP participation through their country s national program office. When do expeditions begin? IODP expeditions will begin in late June, 2004, and applications for participation are currently being accepted. For current operations schedules, expedition information, and application forms and instructions go to: sailing_info.html Direct your questions to: staffing@joiscience.org Congratulations to the Grand Prize Winner of the JOI/USSAC Newsletter Crossword Competition Simon Brassell! Educational Resources info@joiscience.org to receive free educational materials. ODP: Gateways to Glaciation CD-ROM ODP: From Mountains to Monsoons CD-ROM Blast From the Past Poster Don t Get Lost! Send subscription requests and address changes for the JOI/USSAC Newsletter, JOIDES Journal, and JOI/USSSP listserve to: info@joiscience.org U.S. Shipboard Science Participants Leg 209: MAR Peridotite Leg 210: Newfoundland Margin U.S. Co-Chief: Peter Kelemen, WHOI U.S. Co-Chief: Brian Tucholke, WHOI TAMU Staff Scientist: D. Jay Miller TAMU Staff Scientist: Adam Klaus LDEO Logging Staff Scientist: Michela Arnaboldi, Univ. of Michigan Gerardo Iturrino George Claypool, Consultant Dale Griffin, USGS Donna Shillington, Univ. of Wyoming Jennifer Josef, Oregon State Univ. Xixi Zhao, UC, Santa Cruz Jeffrey Gee, Scripps Inst Mark Leckie, Univ. of Massachusetts Wolfgang Bach, WHOI Elspeth Urquhart, Univ. of Miami John Casey, Univ. of Houston Bryan Ladner, Florida State Univ. Michael Cheadle, Univ. of Wyoming Garry Karner, LDEO Anna Cipriani, LDEO Dale Sawyer, Rice Univ. Henry Dick, WHOI Derek Sawyer, Penn State Univ. David Graham, Oregon State Univ. Kathleen Marsaglia, Cal State, Northridge William Meurer, Univ. of Houston Timothy Schroeder, Univ. of Wyoming Richard Carlson, TAMU 14 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

15 e m e n t s USSSP/IODP Internship The U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP)/Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is seeking qualified U.S. applicants for a one-year internship, beginning summer 2004, at the JOI Office in Washington, DC. The USSSP/IODP Internship Program s goal is to introduce recent science graduates to science program management. This internship is ideal for spring 2004 graduates seeking experience with a scientific non-profit organization before continuing their education. Interns work full-time, dedicating half of their effort to special projects and the remainder to other tasks in support of USSSP/IODP. For the term appointment, the intern will be a salaried Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) employee with full benefits. Specific start and end dates will be negotiated. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and the names of three references to the JOI Office by March 15, Interviews with finalists will be scheduled in late March/early April, and a decision will be made by mid-april. For more information about JOI and the science programs it manages, please visit Please direct questions and/or applications to: Margo Cortes (mcortes@joiscience.org), Joint Oceanographic Institutions, 1755 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC After December 15, please send applications to JOI s new address: 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC *Award of the internship is subject to JOI being selected as the successful bidder to NSF for USSSP/IODP. JOI is Moving!! Update your address books Starting December 22nd, JOI s new address will be: 1201 New York Avenue, NW Suite 400 Washington, DC Call for Contributions Contributions and ideas for the JOI/USSAC Newsletter are always welcome! Please contact Andrea Johnson: ajohnson@joiscience.org. Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship In July 2003, USSAC s fellowship panel considered 16 fellowship proposals and granted three one-year shorebased awards. Anna Cipriani, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Space/Time Mantle Heterogeneity Below the Mid Atlantic Ridge: an Isotopic Study of Peridotites and Gabbros Drilled during Leg 209 Kristina Dahl, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Holocene Reconstruction of the Summer and Winter South Asian Monsoon (ODP Leg 117) Matthew O Regan, University of Rhode Island Lateral Fluid Flow in the Nankai Trough Study Area (ODP Legs 181, 190, and 196) The next fellowship application deadline is April 15, 2004 For more information, visit: Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 15

16 JOI/USSSP Internship A (JOIful) Year in Washington, DC contributed by Tony Goodman The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) is a vast program with scientists worldwide, yet the many functions of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), ODP s prime contractor, and the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP) are organized by a relatively few individuals at the JOI office in Washington, DC. I had the opportunity to be one of those individuals as a JOI/USSSP Intern from July 2002 to July 2003 after graduating with a B.S. in Geology from the University of Michigan. In such a small office, with so many responsibilities, there is ample opportunity and the expectation for everyone to perform many tasks. As a result, there are always exciting projects to complete and useful skills to learn. For example, in a typical day I tracked our inventory of offsite publications, created covers for CD-ROMs being sent to NSF, edited video footage shot aboard the JOIDES Resolution, and responded to requests from around the world for information about the program. On other days, I attended events on Capitol Hill, manipulated large databases, and created maps in ArcView. I also represented JOI/USSSP at exhibits at several meetings: the AGU meeting in San Francisco and the Oceanology International meeting in New Orleans. The internship taught me a lot about how to manage large science programs. To do so successfully, requires ensuring that scientific goals are met while distributing this knowledge to the greater scientific community, educators, and the public at large. This is accomplished while also meeting the requirements of international funding agencies and following the advice of the JOI Board of Governors. I enjoyed my time in DC learning about science program management by day, and on evenings and weekends, I explored the city, played on an Australian Rules Football team, and volunteered for GreenHOME a builder of environmentally friendly homes for low income DC residents. However, the JOI staff wanted me to also experience scientific research at sea. Therefore, last February, thanks to Nick Pisias, I worked as a core technician aboard the R/V Wecoma. I met the ship in Newport, Oregon and on a transit, I worked with Peter Kalk and Chris Moser of Oregon State University, technicians with decades of experience between them. We tested equipment and determined the logistics of performing piston cores and multicores aboard the 190-foot-long vessel. The logistics of performing this operation needed to be carefully planned because this was the first time that the Wecoma had been used for piston coring in over a decade. In Port Hueneme, near Los Angeles, the scientific crew boarded, including chief scientists Doug Hammond and Maria Prokopenko of the University of Southern California, other USC scientists, and a few people from the other USC, the University of South Carolina. All the USC sweatshirts and hats were confusing! Our scientific goal was to collect piston cores, multicores, and CTDs for paleomagnetic studies, pore-water analysis, biological surveys, and other uses from various sites. The scientists were all very excited by the sheer volume of samples collected. Collection was limited only by the speed of preliminary shipboard analysis and processing to properly preserve the samples for later research. We worked for five days among California s Channel Islands, cruising past the steep mountains as porpoises and whales played alongside the ship a welcome change from the cold and snow of Washington. After our successful days at sea, I returned to JOI appreciating the difficult but exciting methods of seagoing research. Although I would enjoy going to sea again and was tempted by a wonderful opportunity to attend Scripps Institution of Oceanography, blood is thicker than water. This means that although a part of me will always be a scientist, I ve decided to follow my family tradition of working in construction and architecture. Therefore, I am now pursuing a masters degree in Construction Engineering and Management at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Author Tony Goodman, one of the JOI/ USSSP Interns, is now at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 16 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

17 ODP in the News James Channell s, Univ. of Florida, work on paleomagnetic reversals during ODP Leg 162 was cited in an article titled Mapping Long-Term Changes in Earth s Magnetic Field by Catherine Johnson, Catherine Constable, and Lisa Tauxe (an ODP Leg 108 participant) in the June 27, 2003 issue of Science. Supplementing their data with Channell s data from Site 983, the authors were able to map changes in the Earth s magnetic field over a longer period of time. The April 2003 issue of Sea Technology included a short review article highlighting the achievements of ODP Leg 207 to the Demerara Rise. The article, Evidence Found of Past Rapid Global Climate Change, summarized the expedition s focus on the major changes at the Cretaceous/Tertiary and Paleocene/Eocene boundaries. The signing of the Memorandum between the United States and Japan to establish IODP was reported in the April 17, 2003 issue of Nature. The report included remarks from Jeff Fox, Director of ODP Science Operations, Ted Moore, Univ. of Michigan and co-chair of the IODP planning committee, and Chris Franklin, U.K. Natural Environment Research Council and chairman of the European Science Foundation Consortium for Ocean Drilling. Articles about ODP Leg 208 to the Walvis Ridge appeared in the Innovations Report, Geology News (of The British Geology Society), Currents (UC-Santa Cruz magazine), Nature, and the Pulteney St. Survey (Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni magazine). All the articles featured the cruise s study of a large release of methane gas 55 million years ago that researchers believe caused the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Cruise participants Jim Zachos, UC-Santa Cruz; Dick Kroon, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Ursula Röhl, Univ. of Bremen; Ellen Thomas, Wesleyan Univ.; and Micah Nicolo, Rice Univ. were quoted. At the April 2003 EGS-AGU-EUG meeting in Nice, France, Leg 204 co-chief scientists Anne Trehu and Gerhard Bohrmann, as well as ODP scientists Charlie Paull, Erwin Suess, and Jim Kennett, participated in a press conference on hydrates. The well-attended event entitled Gas Hydrates: Free methane found and controversy over the hydrate gun led to stories in Nature and on British Broadcasting Corporation radio. Did a drought really cause the collapse of the Mayan Civilization? A paper published in the March 14, 2003 issue of Science, and highlighted in the May 2003 issue of Geotimes, addressed this hypothesis. Quoted in the Geotimes feature were: Larry Peterson, Univ. of Miami, and Gerald Haug, Potsdam Geoscience Center (authors of the Science article with Detlef Günther, Daniel Sigman, and Konrad Hughen), who described their work in the Cariaco Basin off the coast of Venezuela (the location of ODP Leg 165) in determining the climate changes during the time of the Maya. The Science paper presents evidence of a 100-year dry period with four major droughts that likely played a very significant role in the downfall of the Mayan empire. Despite past suggestions that the Amazon Basin was a dry savanna during the Pleistocene, new research reveals that a wet tropical climate fed a rainforest in the region at that time. An article in the April 2003 issue of Geology, describes the research that resulted from the ODP Leg 155 drilling of deep sea fan sediments off the coast of Brazil. The authors of the Geology article, Leg 155 participant Miguel Goñi, Univ. of South Carolina in Columbia, and Thomas Kastner, Anadarko Petroleum, claim that these results have important implications in explaining why the Amazon Basin has such high levels of species diversity. Thomas Davies of ODP contributed an article for the July 2003 issue of Geotimes. The article highlights ODP activities and accomplishments in The August 22, 2003 issue of Science featured a research article on the findings of ODP Leg 197 to the Emperor Seamounts. Authors John Tarduno and Rory Cottrell, Univ. of Rochester; Robert Duncan, Oregon State Univ.; David Scholl and Bryan Kerr, Stanford Univ.; Bernhard Steinberger, Japan Marine Science and Technology Center; Thorvaldur Thordarson, SOEST Univ. of Hawaii; Clive Neal, Univ. of Notre Dame; Fred Frey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Masayuki Torii, Okayama Univ. of Science; and Claire Carvallo, Univ. of Toronto, were all members of the shipboard scientific party on Leg 197. The article presents a new theory that evidences rapid movement of the Hawaiian hotspot plume during the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary, as opposed to the widely held theory that hinges on a stationary hotspot and a moving tectonic plate. The authors claim that this new evidence requires changes in the current theories on interior earth properties and dynamics. And, in conclusion, the Geological Society of America named Barbara Bekins, of the U.S. Geological Survey, the 2004 Birdsall- Dreiss Lecturer. She will lecture across the country on her research involving the role of groundwater along plate boundary faults. Bekins sailed on ODP legs 171A and 201 to study plate boundaries at the Barbados subduction zone and the Peru Margin, respectively. Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 17

18 Workshop Report Middle America Seismogenic Zone Workshop Report contributed by Roland von Huene and Kevin Brown One goal of the new Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is to recover material from active seismogenic zones and to install monitoring instruments downhole using the Japanese riser drill ship Chikyu. As such, drilling the dominantly erosional Middle America margin, a margin with frequent damaging earthquakes and tsunamis, was the subject of a JOI/USSSP-funded workshop. The U.S. Geological Survey provided its Menlo Park facilities for the workshop that was held December 3-5, 2002, prior to the 2002 Fall American Geophysical Union meeting. IODP riser drilling has the potential to unlock the long-held secrets of erosional convergent margins. At these margins, which are more abundant than accretionary margins, basal rock from the upper tectonic plate is removed and subducted with the lower plate. The Middle America Pacific margin remarkable for its diversity of dynamic environments is a laboratory for studying erosional convergent margin processes and seismogenesis. The environments of the Middle America Trench include shallow and deep trench axes, shallow to steep dipping plate interfaces, abnormally hot to cold subducting plate temperatures, and a subducting seafloor with smooth morphology that borders a seafloor with basement ridges and seamounts. Some scientists think that the subducting topographic relief in this region accelerates erosion and localizes seismicity. Potential drilling objectives in the area extend from the site of the 1992 tsunamigenic Nicaragua earthquake to the uplifted plate boundary off the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Subduction of the broad Cocos Ridge beneath the Osa Peninsula has uplifted a portion of the seismogenic zone to depths reachable by drilling. Deep scientific drilling would enable scientists to address questions regarding the progressive physical, chemical, and hydrologic changes along the plate boundary. The uplift provides drilling access to a temperature window for slab dehydration processes that are critical to understanding prograde metamorphism of the lower plate during subduction. The 64 scientists attending the workshop hailed from 7 countries and represented multiple scientific disciplines. The purpose of the workshop was to: 1) obtain input from a broad community on science and drilling objectives along the Middle America margin; 2) integrate new information into a Complex Drill Proposal (CDP) overview and Stage 1 non-riser drilling; and 3) identify synergism among similar programs, promote coordination, and establish international contacts within the Middle America scientific community. The workshop was successful in enlarging proponent groups and providing guidance for revising several IODP drilling proposals. In addition, a new perspective on the seismogenic zone emerged. Recent Data Presentations of recent and previously unreported work established a common level of background information for the workshop discussions. For instance, the results of ODP Leg 205 off Costa Rica, completed only three weeks before the workshop, were followed by presentations on geology and geophysics, geodesy and earthquake seismology, fluids, and heat flow. During Leg 205, longterm observatories were installed off Nicoya Peninsula to monitor pressure and temperature changes due to active fluid flow and to collect fluids and gasses. The presentations revealed new erosion rate estimates from older scientific drill samples, indicating accelerated rates above a background level at various times along strike. Erosion rates correlate with subducting plate character, the pattern of earthquakes, and volcanic arc geochemistry. Fore-arc diversity was illustrated with seismic records showing previously undocumented landward dipping reflections that may correlate with an Eocene melange cropping out on the Osa Peninsula. In the same area, preliminary forward modeling of GPS geodesy suggests increasing stress in a locked zone. Northwest of the peninsula, a seismic network allowed precise location of aftershocks of the 1999 Mw 6.9 earthquake that clustered over a subducted ridge and are considered to define a local up-and down-dip extent of the seismogenic zone. Other clusters of seismicity over subducted seamounts are associated with simple patterns of strain release that may be typical of asperities over lower plate relief. Heat flow measurements show complex temperature patterns within both the upper and lower plates. These are consistent with proposed fluid convection in the upper ocean crust and advection in the upper plate. Beneath the continental slope over Cocos Ridge, temperature along the plate boundary modeled from surface temperature is 150ºC, a temperature commonly associated with seismogenic behavior and subduction factory processes. Diapiric mounds in the middle slope have mineral precipitates inferred to reflect fluid flow from regions of elevated temperature and fragments of igneous ocean crustal materials. Thus, the vigor of fluid flow along the Middle America convergent margin has become increasingly apparent. Discussion The remainder of the workshop concentrated on discussions of the topical problems. Within the along-strike diversity of environments, a correspondence among subducted crustal morphology and composition, the flexural faulting seaward of the trench, earthquake epicentral patterns and magnitude, and the complexity of earthquake strain release invite comparison. Important processes to investigate include changes 18 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

19 in inter-plate friction related to progressive metamorphism, the behavior of fluids, the effect of positive basement relief on seismicity, and the character of eroded material produced along the plate interface. A progressive change in the state of materials and fault structure down the subduction zone is linked to the behavior of fluids. The relatively high frequency of Middle American earthquakes is advantageous to study porepressure history during strain buildup and release. Through drilling, hydrologists plan to address questions regarding the role of fluid flow in plate boundary dynamics, to determine how fluid circulation in the upper ocean crust is modified when the lower plate subducts, and to assess the chemical change in fluids with depth down the subduction zone. Complementary drilling programs along the Nicaragua margin would concentrate on forearc vertical tectonic histories and on the lower slope and plate boundary where the nature of tsunami earthquakes may be investigated. Here seismogenic rupture may have approached the trench axis as suggested by tsunami modeling of the 1992 earthquake. Another drill target is faulting in the Cocos Plate, seaward of the trench, to investigate a proposed invasion of seawater to mantle depth along normal faults. Abnormally low upper-mantle velocities are possibly due to serpentinization from the reaction of seawater with peridotite. The German SFB 574, a special long-term project, has invested five months of sea-time to investigate mud diapirs and carbonate mounds, seamount subduction, ocean plate faulting and associated seafloor venting. Processes governing the transition from stable sliding to stick-slip plate behavior, marked by the updip limit of seismicity, are poorly known and invoke many hypotheses. If mineral transformation and associated fluid geochemistry are important, those transformations are probably progressive not instantaneous. However, since eroded debris is derived from the metamorphosed material of the upper plate, mineral transformation has advanced beyond the stages proposed for clay mineral transformations proposed as the cause for unstable slip. If fluid pressure is important, its cyclicity may indicate a migration of frictional resistance. This relation is closely linked with fluid circulation in ocean crust and its role once the plate subducts. All of these processes may affect the transition to stick-slip over time. Revised Concepts Many questions during the workshop concerned the role of lower plate relief on seismogenesis. Do asperities over positive relief on the lower plate produce local high friction? Do conditions over seamount asperities off Costa Rica differ from conditions over the subducted seamount along the Nankai Trough that forms a barrier? Do positive relief asperities limit the size of earthquake rupture? Are low areas between positive relief locked or are they characterized by stable sliding? Is there a resolvable difference in shear heating between regions of subducted asperities versus regions where smooth seafloor subducts? The evolving image of the seismogenic zone at the Middle America margin does not appear static with fixed upand downdip limits defined by isotherms. Instead it appears to be a mosaic of frictional behaviors controlled by heterogeneous morphology, temperature, material composition, and the fluid pressure conditions. This evolving image needs to be elucidated through a drilling program. A frequently discussed issue was how to better locate the updip limit of the seismogenic zone prior to drilling. Drilling capability restricts proposed sites to the shallowest, seaward-most edge of seismogenic behavior. In many earthquake seismological studies, seismogenic events are located to +10 km, a precision unsatisfactory for locating drill sites. A more precise updip end of seismogenic behavior requires deployment of ocean bottom instruments. Currently only a two-month period of aftershock activity has been located with records from on- and offshore seismometers near the area of proposed deep drilling. Off Nicoya Peninsula a longer period of on- and off-shore monitoring indicated variations in the initiation of interplate seismicity suggesting that the updip limit near a candidate drill-site must be more precisely determined with ocean bottom seismometers spaced less-than 5 km apart. Most likely, the beginning of stick-slip behavior varies in space and time with changes in fluid pressure and chemistry, temperature, and locally, with subducting plate relief. To advance understanding of seismogenesis requires direct observation of its dynamic environment through scientific drilling. With its low sediment supply, fast convergence rate, abundant seismicity, tectonic erosion and diverse subducting plate morphology, the Middle America margin offers an excellent complement to the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Drilling experiment. The Authors Workshop co-conveners: Roland von Huene, UC Davis, and Kevin Brown, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Workshop steering committee: Guillermo Alvarado, ICE, Costa Rica; Robert Harris, University of Utah; Masa Kinoshita, JAMSTEC; Kirk McIntosh, University of Texas; Jason Morgan, GEOMAR; Julie Morris, Washington University St Louis; Marino Protti, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica; Cesar Ranero, GEOMAR; David Scholl, U.S. Geological Survey; Susan Schwartz, UC Santa Cruz; and Kiyoshi Suyehiro, JAMSTEC. Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 19

20 Fellowship Profile Implications of Clay Mineralogy at the Nankai Trough Accretionary Prism One key to comprehending the mechanics of great-thrust earthquakes is to understand the controls on the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone. To better understand this, ODP Leg 190 documented lithology, physical properties, and clay mineralogy at a Nankai Trough accretionary prism site and extrapolated this information into a three-dimensional perspective. One of the major goals of my fellowship research was to examine the clay mineralogy of Nankai and the clay s role in influencing the mechanical properties of sediment moving down-dip into the seismogenic zone. Furthermore, the clay mineralogy data have been used to help reconstruct the regional depositional history of the Nankai Trough area (Underwood and Steurer, in press; Steurer and Underwood, in press). The up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone at Nankai occurs within a temperature window of 100 to 150ºC (Hyndman et al., 1995). Diagenetic changes in clay minerals are noteworthy because of a hypothesized link between fault-zone strength and thermally controlled mineral reactions. Vrolijk (1990), for example, speculated that the up-dip limit of seismicity matches the depth where 80% of the incoming smectite is transformed into a stronger illite-rich clay assemblage. Moore and Saffer (2001) discussed how the transformation of mudstones with initial contents of 30% to 50% smectite might lead to changes in frictional properties down-dip. To determine whether smectite abundance is sufficient in the incoming sediment to Joan F. Steurer Ph.D. Institution: University of Missouri- Columbia Faculty Advisor: Michael Underwood influence the evolution of physical properties as the sediment moves into the seismogenic zone, we used X-ray diffraction to scan oriented aggregates of the clay-sized fraction, measured peak areas, and applied weighting factors developed using a singular value decomposition (Underwood et al., in press) to estimate relative weight-percents of smectite, illite, chlorite, and quartz. We then multiplied the abundance of total clay minerals (using data from the nearest shipboard bulk-powder sample) by the relative weight percent of smectite in the <2 mm clay-mineral fraction. Figure 1: Estimates of absolute abundance of smectite in bulk mudstone were made by multiplying the weight-percent total clay minerals by the abundance of smectite in the <2-mm size fraction. Sites 1173 and 1174 are from the Muroto Transect, and Site 1777 is from the Ashizuri Transect. To compare coeval strata, depths are relative to the top of the Shikoku Basin facies, common to both transects. Figure 1 shows that the maximum abundance of bulk smectite in mudstones from Muroto Transect, in the eastern part of the Nankai Trough accretionary prism (Site 1174) and its reference site (Site 1173) are typically less than 25 wt-%. However, mudstones from the reference site for the western Ashizuri Transect (Site 1177) are significantly different because bulk smectite consistently reaches 30 wt-% to 50 wt-%. According to Moore and Saffer (2001), this amount of smectite should be enough to lower the coefficient of friction of the sediment relative to coeval deposits within the eastern Muroto Transect. Furthermore, this abundance of smectite in the bulk mudstone suggests that smectite-to-illite diagenesis may play a role in influencing the updip limit of the seismogenic zone at the Ashizuri Transect. Smectite probably affects mudstone compressibility and permeability at all three sites. Ongoing work aims to better understand the effects of clay mineralogy and diagenesis on sediment consolidation, fluid migration, and effective stress at this convergent margin. References Hyndman, R.D., et al., J. Geophys. Res., 100:15,373-15,392, Moore, J.C., and Saffer, D., Geology, 29: , Steurer, J.F., and Underwood, M., Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 190, in press. Underwood, M., and Steurer, J.F., Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 190, in press. Underwood, M.B., et al., Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 190, in press. Vrolijk, P., Geology, 18: , JOI/USSAC Newsletter

21 Fellowship Profile Effect of Diagenetic Processes on the Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of Sediments The nitrogen isotopic composition of marine organic matter is widely used as a paleoceanographic proxy; however, the effect of diagenesis on the original δ 15 N is not fully understood. The goal of my research, conducted in collaboration with Arthur Spivack at the University of Rhode Island, is to trace the fractionation of nitrogen isotopes as nitrogen transfers between various pools during diagenesis. The strategy is to compare δ 15 N of the bulk sediments and that of pore water ammonia using samples from ODP Legs 201 and 202 from Sites 1227 and Both sites are in an upwelling system at the Peru-Chile margin, but differ in their depositional histories. Site 1234 sediments accumulated rapidly during the last 0.26 M.y. (Mix et al., in press), and Site 1227 sediments, of late Pleistocene to Miocene age, contain two major depositional hiatuses (Fig. 1b), which separate upper Quaternary, Pliocene, and Miocene sediments. The Site 1227 pore water fluid geochemistry is also influenced by a hypersaline Miocene brine, which among other species supplies NH 4 + to the pore water (Suess et al., 1988; D Hondt et al., 2003) The δ 15 N profile in Site 1234 pore water ammonia (Fig. 1a) is slightly smoothed by diffusion, but overall closely follows the isotopic composition of bulk sediments. Such Maria Prokopenko Ph.D. Institution: University of Southern California Faculty Advisor: Doug Hammond similarity implies that no fractionation occurs during decomposition of organic matter. This is consistent with Altabet et al. (1999), who postulated that the δ 15 N of original organic matter is preserved in rapidly accumulating marine sediments. In contrast, the nitrogen isotope behavior in Site 1227 sediments is much more complex (Fig. 1b). The pore-water ammonia δ 15 N is significantly offset from sedimentary values. Within units I and II (the upper 36 mbsf) the average δ 15 N of ammonia is ~6.8, ranging from about 8 at sediment water interface to ~5 at a depth of 36 m. The average isotopic ratio of sediments within the upper 36 mbsf is ~3.7. Below 36 mbsf, δ 15 N of NH 4+ remains constant at 5. The sulfate reduction/methanogenesis transition zone occurs between 36 and 42 mbsf, at the horizon below which the isotopic gradient of ammonium disappears. Average isotopic composition of sedimentary nitrogen deeper than the 36 mbsf boundary is ~8. Figure 1 Ammonium concentrations, δ 15 N of pore water NH 4 + and δ 15 N of bulk nitrogen in the sediments of: 1a) ODP Site 1234; and 1b) ODP Site 1227 The mixing pattern for δ 15 N and NH 4 + and isotopic mass balance of ammonia fluxes indicates mixing between two end members in the upper 36 m of the sediments: ammonia with δ 15 N of 8.7 and ammonia supplied from the Miocene brine with δ 15 N of 5. The origin of the heavier end-member is mysterious. Bulk sedimentary organic matter decomposition with δ 15 N of 3.75 cannot account for the heavy source of ammonia. Two possible scenarios are considered: 1) The nitrogen isotopic ratio of bulk sediments within units I and II represents a mixture of marine and terrestrial organic matter. Only the more labile marine fraction of organic matter (with heavier nitrogen isotopic composition) is decomposing (Sweeney and Kaplan, 1980), leaving a more refractory, isotopically lighter terrestrial fraction behind. 2) A heavy ammonium source only in the zone where pore-water sulfate is present may be not fortuitous, but rather indicative of sulfate s role in microbial cycling of nitrogen. Two mechanisms of such connection are possible: a) more active bacteria growth in the zone of sulfate reduction, accompanied by assimilation of lighter ammonia into bacterial biomass; or b) bacterially mediated oxidation of ammonia with sulfate, a process which has not been observed, but is thermodynamically possible. Initial results indicate that the sedimentary nitrogen cycle is complex, and that its specific pathways vary among different diagenetic settings. Further work is being conducted to fully explain the observed patterns. References Altabet, M.A., et al., Paleoceanography, 14: , D Hondt, S., et al., Site 1227, Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 201, Mix, A.C., et al., Site 1234, Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 202, in press. Suess, E. et al., Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 112: , Sweeney and Kaplan, Mar.Chem., 2:81-94, Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 21

22 Workshop Report Geophysics Site Characterization and Needs (GeoSCAN) Workshop contributed by Nathan Bangs Goals The transition from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) to the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) demands many fresh approaches to ocean drilling including new seismic surveying strategies for site characterization. In response, on June 6, 2003, thirty scientists and students representing the US and Japanese academic geophysical community met with nine industry experts at British Petroleum in Houston, TX for a one-day workshop to examine geophysical needs for site characterization in IODP. The primary focus of the GeoSCAN workshop was on regional or exploration surveying as opposed to geohazards surveying to help develop IODP science programs leading to drilling. Specifically, the goals of the meeting were to: 1) examine current seismic methods used in industry (primarily 3-D seismic techniques) to assess the site surveying needs for IODP; 2) make specific recommendations to NSF on the resources needed to support IODP as outlined in its Initial Science Plan (ISP); and 3) seek advice from industry and develop a basis for further collaboration. substantial 3-D seismic surveying would be necessary to support both non-riser and riser drilling programs... and will be a significantly more important part of IODP The GeoSCAN workshop was held amid change in the academic surveying capabilities in the U.S. Currently there are plans to improve the R/V Ewing s seismic capabilities by adding streamers and seismic sources or to replace Ewing with a retired industry seismic vessel (See the Ewing Midlife Workshop report, 2002). Therefore, IODP surveying plans were discussed with the consideration that U.S. academic facilities are likely to be substantially improved in the future. IODP Seismic Surveying Needs A clear workshop consensus emerged that substantial 3-D seismic surveying would be necessary to support both non-riser and riser drilling programs. Although 3-D seismic surveys have been conducted and used in ODP drilling (e.g., Legs 156 and 171A near Barbados), they will be a significantly more important part of IODP. To be understood, complex structural settings with extensive faulting, deformation, complex hydrogeology, or variable lithologies require 3-D seismic surveys. Furthermore, high-quality 3-D seismic data will be critical wherever there is a chance of encountering hydrocarbons. It also became evident during discussions that 3-D seismic data can maximize the total scientific return of a drilling project. Associated scientific studies from 3-D seismic data will have significant add-on value to IODP drilling programs, provided data are of high quality. Based on industry examples, highquality data require detailed survey planning and design (survey designs tailored to specific geologic objectives), as well as acquisition specifications, state-of-the-art streamer, seismic source and navigation equipment. Furthermore, highly trained personnel are needed for acquisition, data handling, and processing. Appropriate processing algorithms also need to be implemented for imaging specific targets. Academic Facilities vs. Industry Contractors Much discussion and debate at GeoSCAN concerned the use of academic versus commercial facilities for 3-D seismic acquisition and processing. This issue has been a longstanding one for seismic surveying in academia (Coffin et al., 1998). The oil industry representatives at GeoSCAN stressed that the seismic industry has evolved to conduct high-quality 3-D seismic surveys very efficiently and cost-effectively. The primary issues for acquisition in academia are access to remote areas without the prohibitive mobilization/demobilization costs associated with industry vessels, the lower cost of running acquisition on an academic facility once it is purchased, and the opportunity to train and educate students in seismic data acquisition and processing. In many instances, however, academic facilities will not be adequate to meet survey design specifications because of the streamer length and spread necessary to effectively infill the survey volume, or inadequate source and streamer control and navigation equipment, unless academic facilities are significantly improved. Academic surveying will also not be able to meet standards for high-quality, if data are acquired with constraints on time instead of specifications, unless a considerably longer timeframe is used. Industry estimates are that acquisition by the best crews is ~40% efficient for the time actually shooting. The GeoSCAN discussions emphasized that IODP will need to use a combination of industry and academic facilities with consideration of the issues above as part of the planning process. Input from an advisory panel (potentially an existing SAS panel) will be critical to help use both types of facilities effectively. Data Processing, Management and Distribution Accompanying an increase in 3-D survey data for site characterization is a tremendous increase in the efforts of basic data processing, handling, management and distribution. Data acquisition rates are on the order of JOI/USSAC Newsletter

23 Gbytes/hr and ~40 Terabytes for a typical survey. Such large data volume and throughput puts tremendous burdens on academic facilities and individual PIs to conduct basic processing and data handling. An alternative strategy considered at GeoSCAN was to contract the basic processing out to industry contractors for initial data processing and handling. Currently a standard product in the seismic industry is processing through prestack time migration. The advantage with contracting the initial processing is that it could be conducted relatively quickly, and costs are modest at 5 20% of acquisition costs. Concerns over access to commercial data sets also emerged from GeoSCAN discussions. Every effort to acquire and use existing, available industry 3-D seismic data should be made where there is scientific interest. A data management organization should be formed to help with both access and distribution of existing 3-D data sets and newly acquired 3-D data for use in IODP in coordination with the Site Survey Panel (SSP) (Report of the issp Data Bank Working Group, 2003). Based on the workshop recommendations and cost estimates (Table 1), the total required seismic acquisition and processing costs for the US contribution in IODP will range between $11,250,000 to $17,250,000 per year depending on one or two 3-D surveys in a year. Additional contributions to site surveys will come from non-us members of IODP. A more detailed report of the GeoSCAN workshop is available at: shops.html#anchor Recommendations for 3-D seismic surveying in IODP 1) Establish an advisory panel of industry and academic members to advise IODP PIs on 3-D surveying plans, design, and specifications. This panel could be part of the existing Science Advisory Structure structure. 2) Assemble an advisory panel of industry and academic experts to help negotiate seismic acquisition contracts with industry contractors. Contracting through JOI should be considered as a means to have a consistent party to arrange contracts for IODP. 3) Establish a data management and/or data processing facility to produce and maintain high-quality, consistent data sets that can be readily distributed to scientists interested in specialized data processing, interpretation, or integration with other data sets in coordination with the SSP (Report of the issp Data Bank Working Group, 2003). Note: Some of these roles might be undertaken by existing IODP panels. Resource Recommendations for IODP Site Survey Needs To get a better idea of the types of resources that will be needed to fulfill the goals outlined in the IODP Initial Science Plan, costs are defined based on three different levels of complexity of geologic settings that will be investigated in IODP. Typical costs associated with these different geologic targets are estimated in Table 1. Costs High Complexity targets Highly complex targets These areas of investigation represent the most difficult imaging targets that will be investigated in IODP. Examples pertaining to the ISP would include studies of the seismogenic zone on continental margins. Moderately complex targets These areas of investigation represent a lower degree of difficulty in drilling targets, so comprehensive 3-D surveys will not be necessary in these areas. Example of such areas would be Large Igneous Provinces, submarine fans (e.g., Indus, Bengal) and potentially studies of gas hydrates. Low complexity targets will require the lowest level of site surveying resources in IODP, consisting of only 2-D surveying. Examples of such legs would be paleoceanographic (especially Mesozoic) legs, addressing such problems as extreme climate change and the deep biosphere in uncomplicated geologic settings. References Coffin, M.F., et al. Eos, Transactions, 79: , R/V Maurice Ewing Midlife Refit Workshop report, Report of the issp Data Bank Working Group, March 13, 2003 The Author Nathan Bangs, Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, Austin, is a member of the U.S. Science Advisory Committee (USSAC) Moderately Complex targets Low Complexity targets Acquisition $3,000,000 - $3,500,000 $500,000 - $750,000 $350,000 - $500,000 Processing $150,000 - $700,000 $100,000 - $250,000 $100,000 - $150,000 Mob/Demob $1,000, Science $1,000,000 $200,000 - $250,000 $150,000 - $250,000 Total estimate $5,000,000 - $6,000,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 Surveys/yr. 1 to Table 1: Typical costs associated with High Complexity, Moderately Complex, and Low Complexity geologic targets. Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 23

24 NSF Report News and Views from NSF contributed by J. Paul Dauphin, Program Director, NSF/ODP After more than a decade of continuous and ongoing planning, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) offi cially began on October 1, Representatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have signed the Memorandum regarding IODP cooperation between the United States and Japan. The Memorandum states that the U.S. and Japan will function as Lead Agencies and equal partners in the funding and management of this program. The European Consortium for Oceanographic Research Drilling (ECORD) and the People s Republic of China have both stated their commitment to contribute to the IODP, and their respective Memoranda of Participation will be negotiated in the near future. Others have expressed interest in IODP participation as well. Processes leading to the identifi cation of the U.S. IODP System Integration Contractor (SIC) have, at long last, come to a head. Last November, the National Science Board approved the strategy of having a SIC responsible for providing IODP science support services as well as managing and operating the non-riser drillship that would be selected after the issuance of the SIC contract. However, release of the Request for Proposal (RFP) was subsequently delayed due to late appropriation of the NSF budget. The RFP was fi nally let and a selection was made. NSF recently completed negotiations with Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc. (JOI), to establish JOI as the U.S. IODP SIC. Because of the delay in the release of the RFP and indications drillship conversion funds might not be available until FY , the RFP was modifi ed to minimize delay of initial drilling in IODP. The RFP identifi ed a three-step process for the U.S. assets to be provided for IODP: fi rst was the selection of the SIC, and the second involved the SIC, working with NSF, to identify an acceptable vessel for short-term use so that IODP nonriser drilling may occur by mid (The JOIDES Resolution was selected.) Much of the ongoing planning activities occurred in order to allow this early drilling to take place. The third step involves the selection of the long-term non-riser drillship, to be converted in for IODP program needs. It is expected that over $90 million will be available for conversion activities and scientifi c outfi tting of the vessel. A solicitation for part of the IODP U.S. Science Support activity was released and proposals by potential providers for this support were due at NSF by 5:00 pm on November 3, Similar to the current United States Science Support Program (USSSP), new support activity contains funds for innovative instrumentation and tools for core analysis and borehole science, education and outreach, pre-platform activities, platform scientifi c participation, and post-platform activities, including analyses and measurements for initial results publication. The United States Science Advisory Committee (USSAC) Conference on U.S. Participation in IODP (CUSP) Report provided important guidance on these activities. An important element of support for the U.S. scientifi c community s participation in IODP is the direct support provided by NSF funding of unsolicited proposals for drilling-related research performed by U.S. scientists. NSF encourages submission of proposals which include investigations of potential drilling regions, especially by means of regional geophysical fi eld studies; the feasibility and initial development of downhole instruments and techniques; and downhole geophysical and geochemical experiments. In addition, NSF will consider proposals for studies that lead to a long-range defi nition of future drilling objectives on all platforms to be supported by IODP. To be considered for support, proposed projects should be clearly relevant to the drilling plans of the international drilling community and focus on pre-drilling or drilling-concurrent activities. NSF will also entertain expedition objective research proposals. Scheduled drilling expeditions are the result of highly ranked and important science objectives. It is the intention of the NSF-OCE Drilling Program to entertain unsolicited proposals from U.S. expedition participants to fulfi ll these research objectives. The intent is to evaluate these propos- 24 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

25 als through the NSF peer review process and make timely funding decisions. The window for submission of these research proposals by U.S. scientists who plan to apply or have been selected as members of the scientific party for an expedition will be from the time an expedition is scheduled until the end of the moratorium on sample availability for non-cruise participants expires. Postcruise studies occurring after the moratorium on samples and data should generally be submitted through other appropriate NSF programs in the areas of ocean and earth sciences and polar programs. The Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) provides guidance for the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. The latest edition is available at getpub?gpg. Effective October 1, 2002, NSF will return without review, proposals that do not separately address both of the following merit review criteria within the Project Summary: what is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?, and what are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? It is believed that these changes to NSF s proposal preparation and processing guidelines, will more clearly articulate the importance of broader impacts to NSF-funded projects. Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts are available electronically at /nsf022/bicexamples.pdf As a final note, at the end of July, NSF bid farewell to Brad Clement as he completed his exemplary rotation here in ODP at NSF. Brad has returned to his professorial duties at Florida International University to resurrect his research activities and resume his teaching responsibilities. We wish him well. We would like to welcome Carolyn Ruppel as the new rotator in ODP. Carolyn comes to us from Georgia Institute of Technology. Paul Dauphin, being roasted at a retirement party in his honor, on September 26, By the time you read this newsletter, I will also have left NSF after twelve plus years to retire from government service. Working at NSF and serving the U.S. scientific drilling community for these many years has been a great and cherished privilege. I leave with many fond memories. Not only was I fortunate enough to work for the best agency in the federal government but also the greatest international program in the earth sciences. Wow! As of October 1, Rodey Batiza, from the Marine Geology and Geophysics program, will have taken my place as a Program Director of ODP. I wish him well and hope that his tenure in this position will be as rewarding for him as it has been for me. So farewell, and in the words of Mark Twain I say to IODP: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 25

26 Letter From The Chair Full Steam Ahead The first order of business is to thank Paul Dauphin (NSF/ODP Program Director) who recently retired, on behalf of the U.S. scientific ocean drilling community, for his stewardship of ODP, his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition from ODP to IODP, and his counsel and wisdom in working with US- SAC. We will miss his stoic reports but look forward to working with Rodey Batiza, who will shepherd the new U.S. Science Support Program at NSF. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is underway! As related in the lead article and NSF report, the Alliance of JOI, Inc., Texas A&M, and LDEO have been selected as the Systems Integration Contractor (SIC) to operate the non-riser drilling platform on behalf of the U.S., and the solicitation for the U.S. Science Support Program was released by the NSF in August, closing November 3. Although the official start of IODP was October 1, the transition meeting between the interim Planning Committee (ipc) and the Science Planning Committee (SPC) occurred in Sapporo, Japan during September This means we can finally get rid of all the i committees and panels. As one of its more important actions, SPC ranked sixteen IODP proposals and confirmed that the Arctic-Lomonosov Ridge drilling proposal was in an implementation phase as the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) is working on securing funding and reviewing tenders for the necessary drilling platform and icebreaker support. The first meeting of the new Operations Committee (OP- COM) took the highest rated proposals and presented SPC with a number of potential drilling programs for FY 2004 and FY SPC discussions led to a provisional program consisting of five expeditions that included the following programs: Flank Hydrogeology (Proposal 545); Late Neogene-Quaternary Climate Records (proposal 572); CORK in Hole 642E (proposal 543); and Oceanic Core Complex (Proposal 512). Although the final operational schedule is still being developed, the JOIDES Resolution will complete the Juan de Fuca program sometime in the late summer of 2004 and then transit into the Atlantic Ocean. SPC/OPCOM allocated two-leg (segment) programs for both the Oceanic Core Complex and the combination of the Late Neogene-Quaternary Climate Records and Hole 642 CORK. The proposed schedule will take the nonriser phase of IODP into the summer of 2005, when the vessel will be decommissioned and/or refitted to resume drilling in In addition to the non-riser drilling program, two Mission Specific Platform (MSP) programs: South Pacific Sea Level (519) and New Jersey Shallow Shelf (564) were highly ranked. SPC urged ECORD to begin operational planning for these programs, which could be drilled in 2005 and The bottom line for our community is that: 1) non-riser IODP expeditions are scheduled for 2004 and 2005, and 2) MSP expeditions may be scheduled in 2004, 2005, and Scientists interested in participating in any of these expeditions should immediately visit the IODP website ( and apply to JOI to be a member of the scientific party. Current planning will staff eight U.S. scientists on each expedition. See the announcement on page 14 for information on applying to participate on IODP expeditions. Now is the time to get involved with the new opportunities that IODP is providing to the growing ocean drilling community. See you at the AGU Town Meeting! Sincerely, Warren Prell Chair, USSAC 26 JOI/USSAC Newsletter

27 USSAC Membership The U.S. Science Advisory Committee Members Liasons Nathan Bangs (term ends 9/30/04) Institute for Geophysics The University of Texas at Austin 4412 Spicewood Springs Road, Bldg 600 Austin, TX phone: (512) ; fax: (512) Dave Christie (term ends 9/30/05) College of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sci. Oregon State University Oceanography Admin Bldg 104 Corvallis, OR phone: (541) ; fax: (541) Earl Doyle (term ends 9/30/04) Placid Woods Court Sugar Land, TX phone: (281) ; fax: (281) Gabe Filippelli (term ends 9/30/05) Department of Geology Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis 723 W. Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN phone: (317) ; fax: (317) gfilippe@iupui.edu Albert Hine (term ends 9/30/04) College of Marine Science University of South Florida St. Petersburg, FL phone: (727) ; fax: (727) hine@seas.marine.usf.edu Mark Leckie (term ends 9/30/05) Department of Geosciences University of Massachusetts, Amherst 611 N. Pleasant St. Amherst, MA phone: (413) ; fax: (413) mleckie@geo.umass.edu John Mahoney (term ends 9/30/05) SOEST University of Hawaii 2525 Correa Road Honolulu, HI phone: (808) jmahoney@soest.hawaii.edu Ellen Martin (term ends 9/30/06) Department of Geology 241 Williamson Hall University of Florida Gainesville, FL phone: (352) ; fax: (352) emartin@geology.ufl.edu Greg Mountain (term ends 9/30/05) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Department of Geological Sciences Wright Geological Laboratory 610 Taylor Road Piscataway, NJ phone: (732) gmtn@rci.rutgers.edu Larry C. Peterson (term ends 9/30/06) RSMAS Division of Marine Geology & Geophysics University of Miami 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida phone: (305) lpeterson@rsmas.miami.edu Warren Prell, Chair (term ends 9/30/04) Department of Geological Sciences Brown University 324 Brook Street, Box 1846 Providence, RI phone: (401) ; fax: (401) warren_prell@brown.edu David C. Smith (term ends 9/30/06) Graduate School of Oceanography University of Rhode Island Narragansett, RI phone: (401) ; fax: (410) dcsmith@gso.uri.edu Ellen Thomas (term ends 9/30/04) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Wesleyan University 265 Church Street Middletown, CT phone: (860) ; fax: (860) ethomas@wesleyan.edu Harold Tobin (term ends 9/30/06) Earth and Environmental Science Department New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro NM, phone: (505) ; fax: (505) tobin@nmt.edu Jill Whitman (term ends 9/30/05) Department of Geological Sciences Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA phone: (253) whitmaj@plu.edu Membership term is three years. Rodey Batiza Program Director, ODP National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 725 Arlington, VA phone: (703) ; fax: (703) rbatiza@nsf.gov Thomas Davies Manager, Science Services Ocean Drilling Program, Texas A&M University 1000 Discovery Drive College Station, TX phone: (979) ; fax: (979) davies@odp .tamu.edu John Farrell Program Director, JOI/USSSP Joint Oceanographic Institutions 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC phone: (202) x211; fax: (202) jfarrell@joiscience.org n e w s l e t t e r Executive Editor: John Farrell Managing Editor: Andrea Johnson Assistant Editors: Jennifer Anziano Matthew Niemitz The JOI/USSAC Newsletter is issued by Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) and is available free of charge. JOI manages the international Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the U.S. Science Support Program (USSSP) which supports US participation in ODP. Funding for JOI/USSSP is provided through a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF or JOI. To subscribe, contact: JOI/USSAC Newsletter, JOI, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC USA; phone: ; info@joiscience.org. For more information about USSSP, visit: Fall 2003, Vol. 16, No. 2 27

28 n e w s l e t t e r Joint Oceanographic Institutions 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC USA 40 Years of Ocean Drillships September 30 marked the official end of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and 110 legs of drilling by the JOI- DES Resolution. October 1 launched the new Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) which will initially use the JOIDES Resolution and the new Japanese drillship, the Chikyu, once its construction is complete. Speaking of drillships, we can t forget the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) and its flagship, the Glomar Challenger. We thought this was the perfect occasion to introduce a new feature to the JOI/USSAC Newsletter - a numerical comparison of any and all things ocean drilling. Length (m) of the ships 210 Maximum water depth (m) in which the ships can drill 8,235 Total distance traveled (miles) 432,270 The Chikyu 143 JOIDES Resolution 122 Glomar Challenger The JOIDES Resolution 6,243 Glomar Challenge 4,000 Chikyu The Glomar Challenger 390,316 JOIDES Resolution? Chikyu 28 JOI/USSAC Newsletter