CHART: Charting the
Future Course of Scientific Ocean Drilling
Dear
Colleagues:
The CHART meeting is the first step in garnering input
from U.S. scientists to plan the renewal of the Integrated Ocean Drilling
Program (IODP) beyond 2013.
The science planning process that will culminate in the
Science Plan for IODP (2013-2023) needs to begin now. The purpose of the CHART meeting, along with parallel
science planning activities in other countries, is to initiate discussions about
our collective vision of the future of IODP. Through the CHART meeting, we hope to gauge the level of
interest of the U.S. community in IODP and to begin the creative process of
defining how ocean drilling will lead to transformative science in the future.
The results of the CHART meeting, of other science
meetings taking place in Japan and Europe, and of recent IODP-MI sponsored
workshops, will augment the large international planning meeting, INVEST - IODP
New Ventures in Exploring Scientific Targets.
INVEST
is an open international conference to define the new science directions of
IODP, on 23-25 September 2009 at Bremen University. The Proceedings of INVEST will be written by mid-2010. The INVEST proceedings will be used as
a primary source of ideas for the science and implementation plan of the next
phase of IODP. The goal is to have
this plan written, vetted and reviewed in time for approval by interested
funding agencies sometime in 2012.
The CHART meeting is an important opportunity for the
U.S. community to speak up and organize its priorities and goals. Your input
and support will help ensure that the U.S. community retains access to ocean
drilling technology for producing transformative, world-class science.
With thanks,
CHART steering committee
[List SC members here]