Drilling Under the Sea

prof_peabody writes "The IODP (Intergrated Ocean Drilling Program) is about to get rolling in a couple of days. If you live in one of these countries then your tax dollars have contributed to the construction of the giant drillship Chikyu, which was launched a little while back (project timeline). The American contigent website is loaded with info and obligatory acronyms. The first leg of the IODP will investigate how water flows through rock formations beneath the seafloor during an eight-week expedition this summer to the eastern flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of British Columbia. Some of you geeks with beards may remember the DSDP (Deep Sea Drilling Project) or the recently completed ODP (Ocean Drilling Program). The real advance in the new program that will cost well over a billion dollars is the IODP riser drill ship that 'will provide a way to drill into continental margins where oil and gas deposits can cause drilling safety concerns and into regions with thick sediment sections, fault zones, and unstable formations.' A good overview of the IODP can be found here, and the necessary references to Megalodon and none other than The Core."

Comments

Re:no more oil from the middle east.

[chadm1967]

WRONG!

If Americans want greater freedom, we need to start looking at alternative fuel sources. We don't need to hurt the environment any more than we already have. If we develop alternative fuel sources, we can then stay out of the middle east.

Re:no no no no no

[ajs318]

At least have the courtesy to indicate which bits you disagree with. Assuming, of course, and contrary to what you have indicated by posting anonymously, you aren't just being a mindless troll. Otherwise you stand a good chance of being ignored.

You don't accomplish things by telling people they are wrong.

Being a numerical majority -- or even labouring under the impression that you are one -- does not make you right. When almost everyone believed the Sun revolved around the Earth, did it? The indisputable fact is that one day there will be no more oil left in the ground. Do you dispute that something needs to be done about that?