Full fathom five : 15 years of Australian involvement in the ocean drilling program

Abstract

The Ocean Drilling Program, which finished in October 2003, has been an international partnership of scientists and research institutions organised to explore the evolution of the Earth - looking at the past, present and future. It has been the world's largest multinational geoscience program involving 22 countries and many hundreds of researchers in an inspirational program of research. In the veneer of buried sedimentary sections and underlying crust of the sea-bed is a rich history of the waxing and waning of glaciers, the creation and aging of oceanic lithosphere, the evolution and extinction of micro-organisms and the building and erosion of the continents. Ocean drilling has explored this history in increasing detail, revealing the complexity of the processes that control crustal formation, earthquake generation, oceanic circulation and chemistry, and global climate change. Drilling has also revealed that deep within marine sediments, rock pore spaces and rock fractures is an active environment where ocean water circulates, microbes thrive and natural resources accumulate. Australia has participated in ODP for the last 15 years as partners first with Page 1 Canada and then with Canada, South Korea and Taiwan in the PACRIM Consortium. Australia's participation has been funded predominantly by the Australian Research Council, Geoscience Australia (and its predecessor organisations) and Australian universities. Through Australia's participation in the program, Australian scientists have been able to participate in an international program of earth science research of unprecedented scale and scope to Australia's benefit. Through the program it has been possible to deploy the ODP drill ship JO/DES Resolution in Australian waters to address research questions of importance to Australia that simply could not have been addressed by other means. This publication summarises Australia's achievements in the program. By any measure these achievements are impressive. They are a testament to the vision of those who conceived Australia's participation and to the dedication of current and past members of the Australian ODP community whose work made it all possible. Show more