Canadian participation in the integrated ocean drilling program (IODP)

综合大洋钻探计划(IODP)是一项涉及20多个国家的国际多学科科学事业，2008年及以后需要约1.5亿美元/年的业务预算。IODP探索记录在海底沉积物和岩石中的地球系统，是深海钻探计划(DSDP，1968-1983)和大洋钻探计划(ODP1985-2003)的后续项目，这两个项目是有史以来最成功的国际合作科学计划之一，彻底改变了对地球历史的理解。IODP首次向国际社会提供使用多个钻井平台的机会，包括一艘“最先进”的立管钻井船。IODP将允许进入以前禁止进入DSDP/ODP区的区域，如北极、浅海和含油气沉积物。这些新的能力承诺对地球系统有无与伦比的科学洞察力，并将使我们能够解决有关气候变化、固体地球动力学和生物多样性的关键问题。IODP第一阶段(2003-2008年)已经取得了重大发现，特别是关于北极在减缓气候变化方面的作用、卡斯卡迪亚边缘的海洋天然气水合物储藏范围以及从深海地壳钻探到辉长岩层的问题。

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is an international multi-disciplinary scientific endeavour involving more than twenty countries and requiring an operational budget of about 150 M USD/year for 2008 and beyond. IODP explores the Earth's system as recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks and is a successor to the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP, 1968-1983) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP, 1985-2003), which have been among the most successful international collaborative science programs ever conducted and have revolutionized the understanding of the Earth history. IODP offers the international community for the first time access to multiple drilling platforms, including a "state-of-the-art" riser drill ship. IODP will allow access to regions previously off limits to the DSDP/ODP, such as the Arctic, shallow seas, and oil and gas bearing sediments. These new capabilities promise unparalled scientific insights into the earth system, and will allow us to address key questions regarding climate changes, solid earth geodynamics, and biodiversity. Phase I of IODP (2003-2008) already provided significant discoveries, notably about the role of the Arctic in moderating climate changes, the extent of marine gas hydrate reservoirs along Cascadia margins, and the drilling of the deep ocean crust to the gabbroic layer.