The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) is a consortium of 14 European countries and Canada that was formed in 2003 to join the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) as a single member. ECORD is now part of the International Ocean Discovery Program, which addresses crucial questions in Earth, Ocean, Environmental and Life sciences based on drill cores, borehole imaging, observatory data, and related geophysical imaging obtained from beneath the ocean floor using specialized ocean-going drilling and research vessels and platforms. As a contributing member of IODP, ECORD is entitled to berths on every IODP expedition.
Sampling and monitoring the sub-seafloor provides access to millions of years of geological history stored in the sub-seafloor sediments and rocks.
Science proposals of global relevance are welcomed from ECORD scientists. ECORD's scientific objectives (see IODP Science Plan for 2013-2023) are guided by the four major science themes to address fundamental science questions about:
The ongoing climate change, the increasing demand for resources and recent geohazards demonstrate the need to better understand the Earth system. Scientific drilling may provide solutions to major societal problems and can help to sustainably use natural resources. A better understanding of the causes of natural disasters may help to improve the predictions of such events.
ECORD shares interests and closely collaborates with various international science programmes in order to meet future challenges:
| Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) | ||
| Canada | Canadian Consortium for Ocean Drilling (CCOD) | |
| Denmark | Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education (DAFSHE) | |
| Finland | Academy of Finland | |
| France | National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) | |
| Germany | German Research Foundation (DFG) | |
| Ireland | Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) | |
| Italy | National Research Council (CNR) | |
| Netherlands | Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) | |
| Norway | The Research Council of Norway (RCN) | |
| Portugal | Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT) | |
| Spain | Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) | |
| Sweden | Swedish Research Council (VR) | |
| Switzerland | Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) | |
| United Kingdom | UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) |
| 2024 | ||
| Hawaiian Drowned Reefs (IODP Exp. 389) | 2023 | |
| Japan Trench Paleoseismology (IODP Exp. 386) | 2021 | |
| Corinth Active Rift Development (IODP Exp. 381) | 2017 | |
| Chicxulub Impact Crater (IODP Exp. 364) | 2016 | |
| Atlantis Massif Seafloor Processes (IODP Exp. 357) | 2015 | |
| Baltic Sea Paleoenvironment (IODP Exp. 347) | 2013 | |
| Great Barrier Reef Environmental Changes (IODP Exp. 325) | 2010 | |
| New Jersey Shallow Shelf (IODP Exp. 313) | 2009 | |
| Tahiti Sea Level Expedition (IODP Exp. 310) | 2005 | |
| Arctic Coring Expedition – ACEX (IODP Exp. 302) | 2004 |
The IODP scientific objectives can be only achieved by combining multiple drilling platforms. The USA and Japan operate the multipurpose drillship JOIDES Resolution and the riser drilling vessel Chikyū, respectively, to drill in the deep sea. ECORD is an independent platform provider funding and implementing mission-specific platform (MSP) operations for IODP. The advantage of the MSP concept resides with its flexible use of diverse drilling vessels and systems, depending on the scientific objectives and the environment. The MSPs are able to drill in challenging environments like shallow-water reefs and ice-covered areas, thus extending the scientific and operational capability of the programme. A wider geographical distribution can be reached and more diverse science topics can be addressed. ECORD's aim is to implement one MSP expedition per year on average for IODP over the next decade. To date, eight IODP MSP expeditions have been carried out since 2004 for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and since 2013 for the International Ocean Discovery Program.
Ocean drill cores are available for scientists from all over the world, and are stored and curated in three core repositories: the US Gulf Coast Repository in College Station, Texas, the Bremen Core Repository at the University of Bremen, Germany (Marum), and the Kochi Core Center at Kochi University, Japan. The boreholes themselves provide important information as borehole logging can be used to get a continuous profile of numerous physical parameters along the depth of a borehole. All expedition-generated data and publications are available online (IODP, ECORD).
ECORD is funded by public money from its 15 member countries.
The consortium is structured into six entities and two Task Forces:
ECORD offers a number of educational activities to students and early-career scientists, as well as to the science community and educators. ECORD promotes its visibility by conveying scientific discoveries and the societal relevance of the IODP science to targeted groups including teachers, students and the general public through live videoconferences, educational videos, brochures and other materials.
The ECORD Newsletter is a semi-annual publication (April/May and October/November), which presents up-to-date information from the different ECORD entities and reflects the scientific activity of ECORD as part of IODP (https://www.ecord.org/resources/ecord-newsletter/).
Scientific Drilling, the open access ICDP and IODP Programme Journal, is a multidisciplinary journal focused on bringing the latest science and news from scientific drilling and related programmes to the geosciences community. Scientific Drilling semi-annually delivers peer-reviewed science reports from recently completed and ongoing international scientific drilling projects. The journal also includes reports on Engineering Developments, Technical Developments, Workshops, Progress Reports, and news and updates from the community.[1]