Canadian participation in the integrated ocean drilling program (IODP)

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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.