• Gerold Wefer (Germany) and Mike Bickle (UK) as members,
• Helmut Weissert (Switzerland) and Edouard Bard (France) as alternates.

ESSAC reported on selecting project scientists and the organisation of workshops. The ESF-run Magellan workshop series has started. The EuroForum in Cardiff was attended by about 150 participants from all ECORD countries and provided a forum for both active IODP participants and those who wished to know more about the programme and to learn about proposal writing processes. To ensure better cooperation between the ESSAC and the ESF Magellan workshop steering committee, a Memorandum of Understanding between ECORD and the ESF, presented by B. Avril (ESF), was discussed. The Council hopes that a formal link with the ESF will improve future collaboration that serves both organisations to achieve their goals.

ESSAC presented possible Education and Outreach initiatives to the Council. Such initiatives are important and the Council recognises the need for additional funding to be allocated to the ESSAC for implementation of these activities (subject to a detailed cost plan).

ECORD Council discussed and endorsed the ESSAC consensus on quotas: “ESSAC believes that application of quotas for Mission Team membership would be detrimental to IODP science, and resists any attempt to limit by fixed quota the intellectual contribution of ECORD scientists to IODP”.

ESO reported on the Tahiti Sea Level mission-specific platform expedition, which has been widely covered in the media and has already yielded encouraging preliminary results. First scientific publications from the ACEX expedition have appeared in the press, and the scientific report, Proceedings of IODP - Volume 302, is available on the web.

Plans for the New Jersey Shallow Shelf MSP, which is aimed to start in spring 2007, and possible MSP expeditions of FY08 and 09 were presented. ESO is encouraged to be proactive in exploring the possibilities of industry liaison in supporting the MSP operations.

ECORD Council accepted the budgets presented by ESO and EMA for completion of ACEX and Tahiti and for operations in FY06 and FY07. Council thanked ESO and EMA for managing the budgets to the best effect for ACEX and Tahiti. Council also expressed thanks to those countries who forwarded funds from FY07 to FY06.

EMA reported on having set up an ECORD evaluation panel which consists of international experts from outside the IODP community and which will undertake an evaluation of the ECORD contribution to IODP. The first panel meeting will be held in Paris on 22 June 2006, and the evaluation report is expected for the next ECORD Council meeting. 

ECORD Council welcomed efforts of the ECORD-net Workpackage 3 in the organisation of Deep Sea Frontier Initiative which aims at fostering cooperation at all levels in marine geoscience in Europe.

Next Council meeting: Bonn, Germany, 27-28 November 2006.

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