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Research objectives and key sites of continental scientific drilling

Scientific drilling is a well-established tool in Earth sciences and related disciplines. For drilling on land, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, ICDP is the major player providing implemental funding and technical support. The largest number of ICDP projects aim at drivers of Paleoenvironmental and Paleoclimate evolution with a focus on dramatical and rapid changes. While Quaternary archives such as lacustrine sediments still predominate, more and more Mesozoic to Paleozoic time slices of dramatic System Earth transformations come into the play. Even Precambrian times are on the agenda such as Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth, Early Precambrian oxygenation of the atmosphere, or Early Earth origin and evolution of life.

Another key topic in the ICDP are Geohazards including mainly seismic and volcanic risk and research on landslides or a combination of cascading disastrous events. First approaches in this field of science were often related to the feasibility of drilling in fault zones or active volcanic regions while current ideas focus on monitoring and testing.

Energy-related scientific drilling projects on e.g., geothermal challenges and other critical resources often acquire funding from national governmental resources. In contrast, fundamental basic research questions are usually developed as bottom-up international academic initiatives. In order to bridge the gap between these two advance lines in geothermal research, ICDP has now established new funding priorities including not only ‘World-Class Science’ and ‘World-Class Sites` but also ‘World-Class Opportunities’.

This contribution will summarize current trends and initiatives in terms scientific objectives and will elucidate funding challenges as well as chances.

Details

Author
Ulrich Harms1
Institutionen
1GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Germany
Veranstaltung
GeoSaxonia 2024
Datum
2024
DOI
10.48380/pwk3-fj33