U.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling

Do you have an idea for a workshop to explore new questions in SciOD? Submit a proposal by December 4! Workshops may dig into a specific theme or region, synthesize results from past drilling, plan for future projects, and more. Learn more: sodco.org/supported-activities/ 📷 Thomas Ronge, IODP JRSO

How do scientists around the world collaborate to describe hundreds of kilometers of ocean floor cores? A new paper in Scientific Drilling by Peter Blum and Laurel B. Childress tracks 40 years of technological evolution aboard the legendary JOIDES Resolution research vessel.

On Saturday, we had a blast chatting about SciOD at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House. Thanks to all who stopped by to explore the ocean drilling map, check out some core replicas, and add to our (spooky) seafloor drawing.

🚨Pleased to announce our newest @us-sciod.bsky.social Exp403 publication. Led by Yuhi Sakai, we show hydrocarbons that have formed by a previously unrecognized thermogenic process. The gas from these processes posed quite the challenge while coring! agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

SODCO and the @gcrepository.bsky.social are in Denver this week for GSA Connects! Find us in the Exhibit Hall under the Triassic banner. Hear about the latest in SciOD, grab some giveaways, and tell us what you’re up to at the conference. The Exhibit Hall opens at 10am Monday-Wednesday.

A new paper using IODP Exp 397 cores describes the primary sources of sediment input to the Iberian Margin, a region with a high sediment accumulation rate. The study identified three major sources and how they vary due to climate conditions. Find the paper at doi.org/10.1029/2026PA005431

Is your life missing a comic book about scientific ocean drilling? Not anymore! Find free PDF downloads of books that have been produced from IODP’s education and outreach efforts at joidesresolution.org/node2998/ Suggested audiences and background information included on the website.

We are impressed with the representation from the scientific ocean drilling community among the 2026 AGU Honors recipients! Honorees have led and participated in expeditions, completed Schlanger Fellowships, and advised the SciOD community on committees. Congratulations to all!

IODP Expedition 402 recovered exhumed mantle rocks from the relatively recent formation of the Tyrrhenian Sea continental margin. A recent study examined what role granite crystallization had in the rapid pace of mantle exhumation: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec6950 📷 Xiangyu Zhao & IODP

Request a speaker from the AGU Distinguished Lecturer series! 2026-27 speakers include Tim Druitt, IODP Expedition 398 co-chief, with a talk on understanding volcanic activity using IODP and other data. Learn more: connect.agu.org/collegeoffellows/committees/speakerseries/meet-the-lecturers

A recent Ocean Networks Canada expedition to the Cascadia Basin caught sight of multiple octopuses lounging on CORKs, which were installed on IODP Expedition 327 in 2010. 📷 Stills from the ONC Dive Log, and the same CORKs in 2010. Spot the “Octopus parking only” sign!

Congratulations to the 2025-26 Schlanger Fellows on completing and presenting their projects to the SODCO Advisory Board! SODCO is excited to resume the Schlanger fellowship for the 2027-28 year. More details and a call for applications will be coming this fall.

⚓️ Sailing opportunity for students! US GO-SHIP is accepting student applications to sail to a central Pacific meridional hydrographic transect aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Learn more and apply: usgoship.ucsd.edu/2026/08/27/p16s-c-student-cruise-opportunity-review-begins-9-21-26/.

🚨Using time-lapse videos, this new @us-sciod.bsky.social publication from the Aegean Volcanic Arc shows sinking times of pumice following a marine volcanic eruption. publications.iodp.org/proceedings/...

This week, the SODCO Advisory Board met at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. The SAB heard presentations from the ‘25-26 Schlanger fellows, explored the museum's impact crater exhibit, and of course, planned for the future of US SciOD. Outcomes will be posted to the SODCO website.

One of the biggest questions we get is what scientific ocean drilling in the US looks like now that IODP has ended. US SciOD is primarily funded and managed by the NSF US Sub-Seafloor Sampling Program (S3P), SODCO, and the GCR. Learn more in our FAQs: https://sodco.org/frequently-asked-questions/

Find answers to your US scientific ocean drilling questions on our new FAQ page: https://sodco.org/frequently-asked-questions/ Have a question that we didn't answer? Drop it in the comments or send us a message!

Expedition 403 scientist Lucinda Duxbury wrote about her time aboard the legendary JOIDES Resolution, the incredibly successful international collaboration of @us-sciod.bsky.social @ecord.bsky.social @anzic.bsky.social, and the vessel's end in Turkey. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/life/science...

Check out the GCR on YouTube! We post website walk-throughs, instrument spotlights, and other GCR updates. Subscribe here: youtube.com/GCRepository

🚨New Exp403 XRF-data just published the elemental composition of our Fram Strait Site U1623. @us-sciod.bsky.social @gcrepository.bsky.social @ecord.bsky.social publications.iodp.org/proceedings/...

🚨 Another #OpenAccess Exp398 publication just dropped! Led by @sofiadellasala.bsky.social, the study combines geological and genomic evidence of past hydrothermal systems in the caldera of Santorini. @us-sciod.bsky.social @ecord.bsky.social @anzic.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

GCR CORE School participant, Olabayo, explains his project in the Physical Properties lab. @us-sciod.bsky.social #GCR #NSFfunded #geology

Check out this special collection Call for Papers! If your research involves IODP expeditions to the North Atlantic and Arctic gateway, consider submitting your work. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/...

Still time to submit an abstract for #GSAConnects2026! Working with repository cores? Submit to "Revisiting the Archives: New Discoveries from Existing Core Collections." Deadline: Aug. 6 buff.ly/av0odGY Also: Ocean Drilling Data short course: Denver, Oct. 10, before GSA! buff.ly/5z8aWDm

At the GCR’s 2026 CORE School, participants delved into four labs: core description, physical properties, paleomagnetism, and biostratigraphy. Each provides critical pieces of the story we can learn from seafloor cores.

Nice to see another student paper out from IODP Exp379 detailing West Antarctic glacial history from sediment cores. @us-sciod.bsky.social @gcrepository.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

One week left! SODCO is accepting proposals for Workshops and Innovation Grants through July 27: sodco.org/supported-ac...

And that's a wrap. The first @us-sciod.bsky.social undergrad internship just came to an end. Our interns Mav and Gwen absolutely exceeded our expectations and we're excited to see them present their results at #AGU26 in San Francisco. Everyone in the pic helped to make their projects a success 🙌

Do you have ideas for US scientific ocean drilling? Then apply to join the SODCO Advisory Board (SAB)! Composed of scientists with a wide range of expertise and experience, the SAB helps set the course for this new stage of US SciOD. More info here: mailchi.mp/ldeo/2026-sab-call.

JR highlight! A 2020 paper in Science combined foram isotope records with astronomical data to reconstruct 66 million years of past climate. Where did they get the forams? Multiple IODP and ODP expeditions carried out by the JR. 🐚⛴️ 📷 Foram shells. Sarah Kachovich, IODP JRSO

In a letter to the community, Sean Gulick, Chair of the SODCO Advisory Board shared important updates on the state of U.S. scientific ocean drilling. Read the full letter at https://mailchi.mp/ldeo/sab-letter-2026

SODCO is accepting proposals for two types of research support activities: Workshops and Innovation Grants. For information on the scope of each activity, as well as the proposal process, visit https://sodco.org/supported-activities/. Submit your proposal by July 27!

Did you catch the JOIDES Resolution in last week’s XKCD comic? Check it out! https://xkcd.com/3266/ In addition to IODP Expeditions 307 and 329, try to find DSDP’s Hole 504B, drilled by the Glomar Challenger, and the originating Project Mohole.

JR highlight! EXP 392 to the South Pacific Gyre drilled cores over 100 million years old that contained living microbes! After being buried in nutrient poor sediments, the inactive microbes were revived by inputs of carbon and nitrogen. Findings published in Nature in 2020 🌊🦠 📷 John Beck, IODP/TAMU

Undergraduate students are exploring scientific ocean drilling this week at the Gulf Coast Repository. Through OCEAN CORE Academy, they are examining samples, developing research questions, and analyzing data from ocean cores – all while developing a network of peers and mentors.

As you may know, the JOIDES Resolution is on its final transit to a shipbreaking yard in Turkey. Though expected, this news is difficult to hear. As we feel this loss, we want to hear from you: What is your favorite story from the JR? 📷 Phil Christie / Sea1 (left) 📷 Adam Bogus / IODP (right)

At a recent workshop, scientists planned for future #SciOD to improve understanding of how seafloor pockmark formation influences the ocean carbon budget. USSSP and IODP3 supported the workshop. Learn more at usoceandiscovery.org/workshop-seafloor-pockmarks. 📷 Alison Wahburn and Hao Yu

Last week, the IODP Expedition 403 Postcruise Meeting took place in Svalbard, Norway– a fitting location for an expedition focused on the Fram Strait. Scientists shared findings from the ancient climate, tectonic, and DNA data stored in Exp 403 cores. 📷 Khyber Jones/Slingshot Pictures

New paper led by recent Auburn graduate Sarah Barney and w/ @richardsvachula.bsky.social , where we used charcoal to assess the type of vegetation burnt 🔥 in South China during the late Miocene when C4 grasses expanded (funded by @us-sciod.bsky.social; formerly USSSP) doi.org/10.1029/2025...

The Expedition 403 postcruise meeting on Svalbard was a great success. Several days of scientific presentation followed by some time exploring the geology of the fjords. @us-sciod.bsky.social @ecord.bsky.social @anzic.bsky.social

Fascinating results from #IODP #Exp400 recently published by Jiliang Wang (王吉亮), Andrew M. W. Newton, Mads Huuse, David R. Cox, Lara F. Perez & Paul C. Knutz @ecord.bsky.social @us-sciod.bsky.social @anzic.bsky.social

This week, the 2026 Teacher/Research and Curriculum Experience (TRACX), a step-child of the long-running School of Rock, is taking place at the Gulf Coast Repository. Ten teachers and three researchers are teaming up to advance SciOD research while creating classroom resources.

Just about 800mi from the North Pole, Longyearbyen will host the @us-sciod.bsky.social Exp403 postcruise meeting this week. It's great to see valleys carved by the same glaciers that our expedition analyzes, the debris of the former mountains ending up as ice-rafted debris in our sediment cores.

Do you want to advance scientific discovery through ocean drilling? Apply now for the role of SODCO Science Program Officer: academic.careers.columbia.edu/#!/177103. This role will work with leading Earth and ocean scientists to shape the next phase of U.S. scientific ocean drilling.

In our May newsletter @uisdeannicholson.bsky.social fills us in on the recent i-CREATE @ecord.bsky.social Magellan3 and @us-sciod.bsky.social US Science Support Office joint workshop on drilling terrestrial impact craters

At a recent USSSP-supported workshop, scientists explored the causes, behavior, and frequency of submarine landslides, which can have serious impacts on communities along the eastern U.S. Learn more at usoceandiscovery.org/workshop-landslide-dynamics. 📷 Hugh Daigle

If you are attending the upcoming JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting, check out the IODP3/ICDP/J-DESC Town Hall. The event will include updates from each program and a networking reception. 🗓️ Monday, May 25th, 18:30 – 20:30 📍 TKP Garden City Makuhari Learn more: j-desc.org/en/event/20260525_joint-thm2026/

Ally Peccia captivated the audience at the May AMNH SciCafe. Drawing from her experience sailing on IODP Expedition 398 to the Santorini caldera, Ally wove together tales of life at sea with key findings, including evidence for previously unknown major eruptions. 📷 Daniel Kim/© AMNH