September 28th, 2002--Uncovering the Earth's Deep Secrets: The Past, Present, and Future of Ocean Drilling

Guest Scientist: Gerardo Iturrino

Most of the time, we can only see what is at or near the Earth's surface. However, crucial information that can tell us about the history, evolution, and composition of our planet is often recorded in subsurface rocks. In the last 35 years, drilling has evolved into an extremely valuable scientific tool for understanding the history and the ongoing dynamic processes within the Earth. The advancements in drilling technologies have become even more important for studying oceanic environments because seawater covers approximately 70.8% of the Earth.

The history of deep ocean drilling began in the late 1960's with the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the extensive use of a ship named the Glomar Challenger. In the mid 1980¹s, ocean drilling expeditions began operating under the name of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the JOIDES Resolution replaced the Glomar Challenger as the operating drilling vessel. ODP is scheduled to end in September 2002 and a new Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is scheduled to begin operations in 2004 with the addition of several drilling platforms.

The history of ocean exploration has been characterized by a wide range instrument deployments and retrieval of rock samples. Drilling operations have been primarily focused on core sampling and borehole measurements. The Borehole Research Group (BRG) at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory has been conducting borehole investigations for understanding the physical, chemical, and structural characteristics of different oceanic environments for understanding their history and evolution. Dr. Gerardo Iturrino will share some of the important discoveries made during the history of ocean drilling and outline future operations.

This first session will begin with an introduction to the Earth2Class Workshops for Teachers at LDEO, and some other resources of value to educators. Following Dr. Iturrino's presentation, we will explore some student investigations that utilize concepts and materials generated through BRG and ODP investigations.

Some Resources are:

1. Ocean Drilling Program ­ http://www-odp.tamu.edu
2. Borehole Research Group ­ http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/BRG/ 
3. Joint Oceanographic Institutions - http://www.joi-odp.org/ 
4. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Data Repository - http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/datarep/index.html
5. Long Term Downhole Instruments: CORK (Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit) - http://www.brancker.ca/CORK.htm
6. Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) Office - http://joides.rsmas.miami.edu/
7. Achievements and Opportunities of Scientific Ocean Drilling - http://joides.rsmas.miami.edu/legacy/