OGS Colloquium, April 9th, 1-2 PM, Prof. Larry Krissek- Scientific Ocean Drilling

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  • Scientific Ocean Drilling: Fifty-Plus Years of Scientific Advances
     April 9, 2026
     1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

The Ohio Geological Society

Colloquium

 

Thursday, April 9th, 2026

Talk Begins at 1 PM

 

Horace R. Collins Laboratory & Core Repository

3307 South Old State Rd.
Delaware, OH 43015

 

Scientific Ocean Drilling: Fifty-Plus Years of Scientific Advances and International Collaboration,
But an Uncertain Future

 

Larry Krissek – Professor Emeritus, School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University

 

Abstract:

Scientific ocean drilling, writ large, was one of the first “big science” programs in the Earth Sciences, and continued with strong U.S. leadership through a sequence of vigorous and scientifically productive international programs until 2024.   This long-term effort has provided foundational information about many major topics in the Earth Sciences, including plate tectonics, Earth’s climate history, natural hazards, and the deep biosphere.  This talk will explore the technical achievements and scientific accomplishments of five major drilling programs: Project MOHOLE, the Deep Sea Drilling Project, the Ocean Drilling Program, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, and the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP2).

 

IODP2 concluded at the end of Fiscal Year 2024, and scientific ocean drilling faces a challenging – and presently structurally uncoordinated – future.  An innovative science plan for efforts through 2050 has been produced by the international scientific community, but the paths to implementing that science plan are uncertain.  For the foreseeable future the U.S. will use a Mission Specific Platform (MSP) approach, while a European consortium + Japan + Australia/New Zealand will collaborate in IODP3 (using the D/V Chikyu and MSPs), and the Chinese spin-up their Deep Ocean Drilling Programme centered on their new drillship Meng Xiang.

 

Procurement of a new scientific ocean drilling vessel by the US is not guaranteed, and any procurement that does occur is likely to take at least 10 years.  The community of US ocean-drilling scientists is energized by its impactful past and mobilized to address its promising future, but the challenges are real and substantial.

Bio:

Larry Krissek is Professor Emeritus at the School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University.

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Venue:  

Venue Phone: 740-548-7348

Venue Website:

Address:
3307 South Old State Rd., Delaware, Ohio, 43015, United States

Description:

The ODNR Division of Geological Survey Horace R. Collins Laboratory is a multi-use facility located at Alum Creek State Park in Delaware County, Ohio. Core, sample, and twelve other collections are housed at the Ohio Geological Sample Repository. One wing of the facility has laboratories for core and sample description and analysis, petrographic studies, aggregate testing, and sedimentation research. A second wing houses Division of Watercraft Central District offices. The Collins Lab also headquarters the Ohio Seismic Network and the Lake Erie Data Center.