| Many of the earth's secrets are only
observable deep within the earth's crust, several kilometers
below the sea floor, at many kilometers water depth, such
as the mechanisms of earthquakes and continental drift,
the oldest records of life and of climate change and numerous
geological puzzles. In summer 2005, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
(MHI) delivered the first deep-sea scientific drillship
capable of investigating these phenomena at the depths where
they occur. Following installation of the drilling system
and related equipment at the MHI shipyard in Nagasaki, the
Chikyu (Japanese for earth) was turned over to
her new operator.
The Chikyu's first assignment will
be for Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology, co-host with the US National Science Foundation
of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the successor
to the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) that was begun nearly
12 years ago. Using multiple platforms, IODP researchers
from around the world will drill, core and log various data
in oceanic
settings seeking answers to the mysteries of how life developed
on earth and how the earth itself evolved and now exists.
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