Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
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| Deep-sea Drilling Vessel "CHIKYU" |
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is an international research program whose goal is to explore the structure of the Earth as recorded in oceanic sediments and rocks. It follows on the work previously performed by the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP).
The new program is slated to resume drilling operations in 2006 for the first time using two ships. The first is a vessel built from scratch for the IODP by the Japanese Ministry of Economics Trade and Industry (METI, formerly MITI) called Chikyu (Earth), though informally known as Godzilla Maru. She is the largest scientific research vessel ever built, and uses a riser drilling technology to drill more effectively in deep water. The second vessel in the IODP as yet bears only the name SODV and is being constructed by an American consortium through a complete refit of the former JOIDES Resolution.
The "third leg" of the IODP family is represented by the European initiative ECORD to rent mission-specific platforms to carry out specific one-off drilling missions that are out of reach of the other two ships. These include drilling in very shallow water, or in the ice-covered seas.
On April 6, 2005, the IODP announced that it had drilled into the lower section of the Earth's crust for the first time.
Participating organizations include: ODP Management International, Inc., Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc., Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Texas A&M University, and Texas A&M Research Foundation.
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