ECORD Council #20 - Summary / Granada, 2-3 November, 2011

The meeting was hosted by Carlota Escutia (ESSAC Chair) at the Parque de las Ciencias (Science Museum) in Granada (Spain).

Mike Webb was elected Vice-Chair as of April 1, 2012 until September 2012 to become the Chair from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013. Josef Stuefer was elected as a member of the Executive. As of April 1, 2012 the ECORD Executive will be composed of Anne de Vernal (Chair), M. Webb (Vice-Chair), Mireille Perrin, Guido Lüniger and Josef Stuefer.

Rodey Batiza, Program Director of Division of Ocean Sciences, reported on the situation at NSF regarding the future of the US in IODP. The budget situation in the US for investment in research is difficult. The new framework should allow a long-term viable business model for the JOIDES Resolution (JR). Operating the JR 12 months a year remains a top priority. The National Science Board will meet in mid-2012 and deliver their final decision on US participation in the next phase of IODP.

Shingo Shibata and Shin Ichi Kuramoto reported on the MEXT situation. Following damage by the tsunami, the Chikyu was repaired and is currently implementing a commercial contract. Chikyu will resume IODP operations from April 2012. After the completion of the NanTroSEIZE project, it is expected that the Chikyu will work outside of Japanese waters.  ECORD is encouraged to develop projects in the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The Project Mohole remains a strong objective and scoping is ongoing.  MEXT is currently developing a new Chikyu policy that is more flexible and financially viable.

Gerold Wefer, Chair of the IODP-MI Board of Governors (BoG), reported on the last BoG meeting held in Amsterdam last  June. The main points addressed were the election of a renewed BoG structure, the participation in the selection committee for SIPCOM and PEP chairs and the disbandment of SASEC. For the first time the BoG is chaired by an ECORD member.

Dr. Kiyoshi Suyehiro, President of IODP-MI, presented the new status of the Science Advisory Structure (SAS).  The new SAS ihas been in operation since October 1, 2011. Dr Suyehiro presented an overview of the ships planning scenarios for FY12-13, indicating that the FY13 schedules for the three platforms are still provisional. Finally Dr Suyehiro gave an overview on the Mohole project. IODP-MI was granted an award of USD500K from the Sloan Foundation to help set up a scoping group -Borehole into Earth's Mantle - the BEAM project - to conduct scoping activity of scientific crust/mantle drilling. Good progress has been made in attracting Brazil as a new partner for the next phase of the programme.

Jan de Leeuw, Chair of SIPCOM, reported on the last SASEC meeting held in Amsterdam in June and subsequent discussions before disbandenment.  The new Science Plan was publicised at an international press conference. Terms of Reference are now in force, SAS Chairs and members have been appointed and first meetings are scheduled for SIPCOM and PEP. New proposal submission guidelines were approved and are available on the IODP web site. Engineering development is no longer conducted by a permanent panel (EDP) but by the Platform Operators.

Catherine Mével reported on EMA activities. ECORD Newsletter #17 (October 2011) is now posted on the ECORD web site and was distributed at the AGU Fall meeting in San Francisco. The ECORD-MSP video is now released and available online. Preparation for outreach activities associated with the JOIDES Resolution Lisbon Portcall, mid-January 2012, are in progress. IODP booths were organised at the Goldschmidt 2011 conference in Prague as well as the 3P Arctic Conference in Halifax, where successful contacts have been made with the geochemistry community and industry respectively. The ECORD Evaluation Report is finalised and will be distributed to ECORD members.

C. Mével reported on the Deep Sea and Sub Seafloor (DS3F) project. A major conference is planned in March 2012 in Sitjes (Spain) with the aim of finalising and publicising the DS3F  white paper.  The ECORD community as well senior representatives from the funding agencies are encouraged to attend.

C. Mével reported that the ERICON-Aurora Borealis project is considering a new design to slim down the vessel and use a portable drill rig. This would result in the reduction of the initial estimated construction cost by about a third.

Collaboration with ICDP in the future looks very promising i.e.: Scientific Drilling Journal, potential joint project in Chixculub, co-support of the Magellan+ programme and a shared vision on the concept of European drilling infrastructure.

Carlota Escutia, the new ESSAC Chair, reported on ESSAC activities.  The ESSAC Office moved to Granada on October 1, 2011. Julia Gutierrez Pastor is the new Scientific Co-ordinator.  C. Escutia reported on the platform schedules for FY12. Statistics on the proposals in the system show excellent ECORD participation in the programme: 27 out of 81 active proposals are ECORD-led and involve 325 ECORD proponents. The ESSAC consensus was presented, expressing that the Committee fully supports the ECORD Council vision and efforts to establish the future programme. C. Escutia introduced the new ECORD members of the Science Advisory Structure and summarised the current situation regarding quotas and staffing. Reports on ECORD summer schools 2012 and the Distinguished Lecturer Programme were presented. The Magellan+ programme (to support workshops) is now established, chaired by J. Erbacher (IODP Germany) and the first call for proposals has been sent out.

Robert Gatliff reported on ESO and MSP plans until 2013. Two post-expedition meetings have been held (Great Barrier Reef and New Jersey). No expedition is planned for FY12 and the aim is to implement one or possibly two in FY13: an expensive project requiring a drilling platform (Baltic Sea), and - budget permitting - a cheaper one using a seabed drill (Atlantis Massif) as recommended by SPC. Chicxulub is likely to be the first MSP of the new programme. Practical issues are still pending such as permitting, platform costs, etc. ESO will co-fund a one-day pilot mission operated by a Fugro’s vessel as a test for coring tools on the Coralgal Banks.  This will be the first ESO-industry collaboration. ESO is planning to offer access to several scientific containers to the ECORD scientific community when they are not used on MSP expeditions.

Niall McDonough, Executive Scientific Secretary at the Marine Board reported on activities relevant to ECORD. He emphasised that the Marine Board and ECORD have several mutual interests that should be stepped up with the aim to see scientific ocean drilling supported by the EC in the future funding programme Horizon 2020. ECORD Council recognised the Marine Board as a valuable partner to approach the EC and is willing to continue the dialogue.

For the next phase, all ECORD partners are willing to continue supporting the programme and providing access to MSPs. However, decisions at the national level are still pending in all countries. ECORD Council approved the new framework for the programme, which maintains an international umbrella and the international proposal evaluation system, but gives more independence to platform operations. The initial timeline for the ECORD renewal in IODP has been delayed because of the need to revise the programme architecture and funding structure. The ECORD Business Plan will be revised in the light of the new framework and finalised by early 2012. The new Science Plan, the ECORD Business Plan and the ECORD Evaluation Report will be submitted to the ECORD funding agencies for consideration at the end of January 2012. ECORD partners are expected to submit an expression of interest to participate in the new phase of ocean drilling by mid-April 2012. The new ECORD MoU is expected to be signed in late 2012 - early 2013.

As of January 1, 2012, the EMA office will move from Paris to Aix en Provence and will be managed by Gilbert Camoin. Catherine Mével attended her last ECORD Council meeting as EMA Director as she will stand down at the end of this year. ECORD Council expressed their warm thanks and acknowledgments to Catherine for the admirable work accomplished as Director of the ECORD Managing Agency during her mandate. ECORD Council also thanked Mr Mohammed Benchikh for his hard work, kindness and dedication over the last two years as Executive Secretary of EMA.

Next Council meeting: June 5-6, 2012, Helsinki, Finland.

Participants
ECORD Council members/alternates
Jean-Pierre Henriet Belgium
Anne de Vernal (Chair) Canada
Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz Denmark
Jenni Virtanen Finland
Mireille Perrin (Vice-chair) France
Guido Lüniger Germany
Eirikur Stephensen Iceland
Koen Verbruggen Ireland
Marco Sacchi Italy
Josef Stuefer The Netherlands
Oyvind Pettersen Norway
Fernando Barriga Portugal
Jose Ramon Sanchez Quintana Spain
Martina Kern-Lütschg Switzerland
Michael Webb The United Kingdom
Observers
Catherine Mével EMA
Mohamed Amine Benchikh
Gilbert Camoin
Robert Gatliff ESO
Carlota Escutia Dotti ESSAC
Julia Gutierrez Pastor
Kyoshi Suyehiro IODP-MI
Gerold Wefer IODP BoG
Jan de Leeuw SIPCOM
Shingo Shibata MEXT
Shin Ishi Kuramoto
Rodey Batiza NSF
Wataru Azuma JAMSTEC
Niall McDonough Marine Board
Nicolas Waldmann Israel


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