Drilling into ocean’s past – IODP3 event at the French Embassy of Tokyo

15 December, from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM (GMT+9)

We are pleased to announce an invite-only event, officially recognized as a Decade Activity under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

The event will take place on 15 December, from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM (GMT+9) at the Frech Embassy of Tokyo, following IODP³ Expedition 503 – Hadal Trench Tsunamigenic Slip History: Buried in the Trench, conducted from 24 November to 12 December 2025 aboard the drilling vessel D/V Chikyu within the framework of the International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP³).

This expedition is the latest in a series of internationally coordinated scientific drilling efforts off Japan designed to deepen understanding of earthquake and tsunami processes in the wake of the paradigm-shifting 2011 Tohoku-oki Mega-Earthquake.

Emerging from the white paper “Rapid Response Fault Drilling: Past, Present, and Future” and a 2008 international workshop in Tokyo with 44 scientists from 10 countries, this collaboration has guided the development of rapid and effective scientific responses to major seismic events.

Over the 14 years since the Tohoku event, multiple ocean drilling expeditions have significantly advanced knowledge of the mechanisms governing large earthquakes, while pushing technological boundaries through subseafloor observatory installations and ultra-deepwater sampling. These efforts have also provided new insights into the impacts of seismic events on deep-sea ecosystems and the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and other key elements in Earth’s interconnected system.