DRILLING FOR SUCCESS

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program as an Opportunity for Young Scientists

Mark Nielsen, Clare Reimers, Holly Given

IODP and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Student

Reinforces value of interdisciplinary research

Develops international collaborations

Encourages “Big Picture” thinking

Proposal preparation

Expedition 301, Hydrogeology of the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Formation-scale hydrogeologyPetrology, stratigraphy, geochemistry and microbiologyBasement coring and sediment coringCORKs24-member shipboard science party

Reinforcement of Interdisciplinary Research

Challenge: Interdisciplinary research at the student level feels like it dilutes one’s expertise

Reinforcement of Interdisciplinary ResearchDefined responsibilities +

personal sample requests

On Exp. 301 being

interdisciplinary paid

dividends

Worked with physical

properties group, CORK

scientists and microbiologists

There’s a first time for

everything

International CollaborationsSix countries: U.S., Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden

Lab groups and living quarters are integrated

Scientists at all career levels

Equality of sample requests

Collaborations continue after the cruise

e.g. Isotopic analysis of acetate samples from incubation experiments

BET Surface Area vs. Depth

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Surface Area (m2/g)D

ep

th (

mb

sf)

The Scientific Community

DSDP/ODP/IODP produce widely used data setsSamples are extremely valuableStudent involvement in post-cruise meetings and report writing

Post-cruise proposals

USSP encourages post-cruise proposalProcessDesign research programDevelop budgetDeal with reviews

Low-risk, high reward

Summary

An IODP expedition pays dividends to the “interdisciplinarian”Opportunity to develop strong international relationshipsDevelop some PI-type skills early in your career

AcknowledgementsExpedition 301 Scientific PartyBill Crawford and Jonathan Rice

Martin FiskNSF IGERT Program