Overview

Courtesy UAF-IARC (N. Shakhova & I. Semiletov)

High-latitude areas are experiencing rapid change in response to contemporary global warming, but many parts of the the shallow circum-Arctic Ocean have been undergoing climate-induced changes since the onset of major sea level rise in the Late Pleistocene. Scientific drilling in the post-2013 era will present important opportunities for devising complex, multiplatform investigations to capture the impact of short- and long-term warming on geological, oceanographic, and biological processes on Arctic Ocean shelves (nominally less than 100 m water depth) and upper continental slopes (up to 1000 m water depth). This workshop:

• Identified the best geographic areas for exploring active climate change processes affecting climate-susceptible geologic deposits (i.e., subsea permafrost and methane hydrates) using the drill as the primary tool.
• Identified other major knowledge gaps (e.g., in paleoceanography, sea level and sea ice reconstructions, sedimentology, microbiology) that can be addressed by drilling programs on Arctic Ocean continental shelves and upper continental slopes.
• Explored the unique scientific and technical challenges associated with drilling these areas to lay the groundwork for future site surveys, ancillary drilling programs (e.g., shorebased), and pre-proposals to the IODP system.

Workshop Report (Draft)
Eos Report

Steering Committee

Carolyn Ruppel (chair), U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology
Vladimir Romanovsky (co-chair), University of Alaska Fairbanks
Charlie Paull, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Jürgen Mienert, University of Tromsø
Scott Dallimore , Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Center
Timothy Collett, U.S. Geological Survey, Energy Research Program

Workshop Sponsors

IODP U.S. Science Support Program
U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project