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News Release 09-027

Marine Scientists to Investigate Role of Equatorial Pacific Ocean in Global Climate System

First expeditions of newly refurbished ocean drilling vessel, JOIDES Resolution, to set sail

Photo of the refurbished JOIDES Resolution.

The JOIDES Resolution will sail in the Pacific on its first expedition since it was refurbished.


February 23, 2009

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

In early March, an international team of scientists will set sail aboard the drill ship JOIDES Resolution on the first of two Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expeditions to the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

The second expedition will follow immediately afterward in May. Both are grouped into one science program, known as the Pacific Equatorial Age Transect (PEAT).

The results will lead to a clearer understanding of Earth's climate over the past 55 million years--a vital component to knowing what future course the planet's climate will take, scientists believe.

"These expeditions focused on climate change come at a critical time," said Julie Morris, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Ocean Sciences, which supports IODP. "During the next year, sea-floor drilling related to climate change will happen from pole to pole."

The PEAT expeditions aim to recover a continuous Cenozoic record (from 65.5 million years ago to the present) of sediments beneath the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Geologists will drill into the crust on the Pacific tectonic plate along the equator.

The first research effort, Expedition 320, is planned for March 5 through May 5, 2009; Expedition 321 will take place from May 5 through July 5, 2009.

Co-chief scientists of Expedition 320 are Heiko Palike of the University of Southampton, U.K., and Hiroshi Nishi of Hokkaido University in Japan; of Expedition 321, Mitch Lyle of Texas A&M University in the U.S., and Isabella Raffi of the Universita "G. D'Annunzio" Campus Universitario in Italy.

Earlier scientific ocean drilling expeditions to the equatorial Pacific yielded discoveries about past climate conditions and the past position of the Pacific tectonic plate relative to the equator.

However, they did not obtain continuous sediment records the two PEAT expeditions will recover seafloor sediment cores with an unbroken record.

"The cores will help us understand how and why productivity in the Pacific changed over time," said Morris, "and provide information about rapid biological evolution and turnover during times of climatic stress."

The equatorial Pacific is a major center of solar warming, a region of high productivity, and a primary region for carbon dioxide exchange from the deep ocean to the atmosphere.

It is also the source region for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon. The equatorial Pacific also helps maintain global climates, and drives climate change.

Over the last 55 million years, global climate has varied dramatically from extreme warmth to glacial cold. These climate variations have been imprinted on the biogenic-rich sediments that accumulated in the equatorial zone.

Information from the PEAT expeditions will help scientists understand how Earth was able to maintain very warm climates relative to the 20th century, even though solar radiation received at the earth's surface has remained nearly constant for the last 55 million years.

-NSF-


  • During Expedition 320, sites in red will be drilled; Expedition 321 will focus on sites in yellow.
    Credit and Larger Version

Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF, (703) 292-7734, email: cdybas@nsf.gov
Jon Corsiglia, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, (202) 232-3900, email: jcorsiglia@oceanleadership.org

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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