Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP): Norwegian Network and Office

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) was initiated in November 2003. Although the program proceeds the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), it represents a new program with new opportunities. IODP is designed around three platforms: A new riser drilling vessel that currently is under construction and that will be operated by a Japanese agency, a non riser vessel operated by the U.S. Joint Oceanographic Institutions, and mission specific platforms operated by the European Consortium for Ocean Drilling (E CORD). The initial science plan for IODP has three central themes: 1) The deep biosphere and the subseafloor ocean, 2) environmental change, processes and effects, and 3) solid earth cycles and geodynamics, all of which are central themes in the Norwegian geo(bio)sciences. The mission specific platform concept and the riser drilling vessel opens up a range of new opportunities for the geosciences in the years to come, including Arctic drilling, deep crustal drilling, shallow water drilling and the drilli ng of carbonate reefs. As a result of the three platforms, and a management system shared between the U.S. Japan and Europe, the new program has become more complex then its predecessor. With a long backlog of proposals from the ODP-program, the competiti on for getting drilling proposals accepted has become even harder. Accordingly, there is a stronger need for national coordination, information and strategic decision-making in order for the Norwegian science community to take full advantage of the opport unities in the new program. Department of Earth Science at the University of Bergen has accepted the task to establish a Norwegian IODP-network and a small coordinating office.