This award will provide management and operational support for the conduct of continental scientific drilling projects, allowing Principal Investigators to focus on scientific investigations. The methods proposed to implement this objective include: preparation of drilling plans and budgets, design and fabrication of equipment, implementation and management of drilling, communications with scientists and the public, program coordination and integration, human resource development and education, and health and safety protocols. DOSECC operates drilling systems that are dedicated to the needs of scientists. The result of funding this proposal will be to increase the efficiency of scientific drilling.
Drilling is the only method available for directly accessing and sampling the subsurface. Scientific drilling on continents is critical for understanding the third dimension including stratigraphic succession (history of earth processes), sampling poorly or non-exposed intervals and those altered by surface-weathering processes, and sampling the climate proxies preserved in modern and ancient lakes. Past and future projects are addressing transformative concepts in the earth sciences such as climate history, human origins and migration, and mass extinctions.
DOSECC provides infrastructure necessary for academic research of the Earth?s subsurface. Nearly all scientific drilling projects involve international teams of scientists and students. These projects integrate research and education and serve to increase diversity in science by bringing together investigators from different nations, cultures and backgrounds. In order to encourage student involvement in this research, DOSECC has initiated a Student Internship Program that funds teachers and students from any nation to participate in scientific drilling projects. Scientific drilling has societal benefits, including monitoring of seismic and volcanic hazards, identification of natural resources, and determination of climate variability. The projects are often the subject of television and web reporting. DOSECC has established a Distinguished Lecture Series to disseminate results of scientific drilling projects. This series is open to any university on request. DOSECC also produces a bi-annual newsletter for the scientific drilling community, and publishes manuals regarding the best practices for planning and implementing successful and safe scientific drilling projects.
***
