Scientific Ocean Drilling Accomplishments and Challenges (2011) / Chapter Skim
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6 Assessment of *Illuminating Earth's Past, Present, and Future: The International Ocean Discovery Program Science Plan for 2013-2023*
6 Assessment of *Illuminating Earth's Past, Present, and Future: The International Ocean Discovery Program Science Plan for 2013-2023*
Pages 59-72
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From page 59... ...
radically change our understanding of an important existing General comments on the theme are followed by a detailed scientific or engineering concept or educational practice or analysis of each of the science plan challenges listed within leads to the creation of a new paradigm or field of science, the theme, assessment of other challenges or opportunities engineering, or education. Such research challenges current understanding or provides pathways to new frontiers."1 for transformative science beyond that in the science plan, synergies between the themes, and linkages between scienUnder this definition, the committee has considered those tific ocean drilling, other NSF-supported science programs discoveries that might result from several different path and facilities, and non-NSF programs.
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From page 60... ...
tific value of the scientific ocean drilling programs. Overall, the science plan presents a strong case for the Expanded use of legacy materials could help, for continuation of scientific ocean drilling, with its possible example, with prioritization of drilling objectives in benefits for science and society.
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From page 61... ...
The science plan emphasizes the critical need to inte grate proxy observations from paleoclimate data with numer Chapters 2-4 extensively discuss the vital role played by ical modeling of past climates to better understand climate technology in achieving many scientific advances in previ- system responses and feedbacks. In addition, there will be ous scientific ocean drilling programs (Deep Sea Drilling a need to develop new paleoclimate proxies and improve Project [DSDP]
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From page 62... ...
The aim drilling at the forefront of transformative science. of this topic is to quantify decadal and longer-term variabil This challenge also identifies climate system sensitivity ity in regional climates and hydrological cycles, to support and the performance of IPCC climate models under different development of regional climate models on intermediate CO2 concentrations as areas where pre-Quaternary proxy (10 yr-1 kyr)
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From page 63... ...
mountains and high terrain on erosion, precipitation, weathering, and CO2 drawdown through the silicate weathering Linkages with NSF and Other Programs cycle. Although having less immediate societal relevance, this much longer term process is important for understanding The science plan attempts to acknowledge linkages the Cenozoic evolution of atmospheric greenhouse gas con- with continental margin drilling programs such as ICDP, centrations, ocean nutrient production, and the carbon cycle.
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From page 64... ...
impact of microbial communities on geochemical transformations by moving beyond "who is there and how many" to Understanding of abrupt environmental change and the "what is the activity, function, and contribution of sediment role of CO2 on marine ecosystems has important implicacommunities to carbon, sulfur, and iron cycling? " Specific tions for current anthropogenic change and great potential missions and experiments to push our understanding of sedi- for transformative science with strong societal relevance.
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From page 65... ...
There are also obvious synergies between Challenge 7 and the climate theme regarding the sensitiv ity of ecosystems to environmental change, especially in Other Challenges and Opportunities understanding major climate perturbations that can impact The science plan misses the potential opportunity to the evolution of life. study (living)
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From page 66... ...
peridotite at slow spreading ridges suggests that in some One of this theme's main messages is the great need places the Moho is the boundary between mafic oceanic to drill more deeply into and through intact ocean crust. crust and ultramafic upper mantle, while in other locations it Although the science plan emphasizes drilling to the is a serpentinization front separating altered from unaltered Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho)
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From page 67... ...
Third, the collection of continuous, intact time series of geomagnetic dipole declination, inclina- cores of fast-spreading ocean crust, when supplemented by tion, and relative paleointensity. These data, best retrieved opportunistic sampling of peridotite and serpentinite from through scientific ocean drilling, could provide benchmarks tectonically exposed upper mantle, could provide essenfor evaluating numerical models that have been proposed to tial ground-truthing opportunities for proposed sources of describe the fluid core motions thought to be responsible for marine magnetic anomalies.
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From page 68... ...
Although this A broad misconception in the geological research challenge's concept is indeed important, the science plan community is that the existence of many scientific ocean does not provide a clear approach on how it could be tackdrilling sites throughout the ocean basins is equivalent to led. Information supporting this challenge is vague, with significant sampling of the crystalline crust and underlying no identification of potential drill sites and a lack of clarity upper mantle.
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From page 69... ...
The science plan does not clearly enunciate the contribution of scientific ocean drilling The research objectives that require time series mea- to understanding these phenomena. Another important aspect surements are grouped into three closely linked challenges: understanding mechanisms related to major earthquakes, 8 See http://www.oceanleadership.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ Casc_Facil_Wkshp_Report.pdf.
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From page 70... ...
Similarly, the science plan cessful at defining the earthquake history for the past ~12 kyr discusses the role of serpentinization of exposed peridotite at in Cascadia (Goldfinger et al., 2011)
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From page 71... ...
, which can enable high-resolution, real-time data flow from instruments that Synergies Between This and Other Science Plan Themes can be deployed in boreholes. It is essential that planning As mentioned previously, Challenge 14 has natural syn- for these two programs be integrated so that boreholes and ergy with topics discussed in all of the previous themes.
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