InterRidge (IR) is a non-profit organization concerned with promoting all aspects of ocean floor research (its study, use and protection) which can only be achieved by international cooperation. At present IR is supported by 3 principal member nations (China, France and Norway each paying 25 000 US$) and 7 regular member nations (Canada, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Korea and UK, each paying 5 000 US$), our other member nations and regions have corresponding nation status.
InterRidge exists to:
- Promote interdisciplinary, international studies of the ocean's floor
- Coordinate scientific exchange (information, technology, facilities) between national research groups
- Provide a unified voice for ocean ridge researchers worldwide
- Encourage the protection and management of the oceanic ridge environment
- Promote communication between non-scientists, scientists, educators and policy-makers
- Spearhead education outreach efforts to raise awareness of the oceanic ridge environment
The event that sparked the birth of InterRidge occurred when two countries using the same resource- and labor-intensive tools to visit the same place on the ocean floor realized that it made more sense to share resources than have to find ways to independently fund their own. It was 1992. Twenty-five years later, InterRidge remains anchored by the principle of collaboration: It is an international organization that pools the resources of its member countries to drive oceanic ridge research forward in a way that is cost-effective, cooperative and proven to be successful.
The first ten years of InterRidge produced a coordinated, international ridge community of member countries that had previously been working alone, and left a string of success stories in its wake. Two examples are the first-ever mapping and sampling of one of the slowest spreading and remote centers known to date, the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean, and the exploration and study of the Southwest Indian Ridge. Now in its third decade plan, InterRidge currently has ~1600 member researchers and 20 member nations. The doors are wide open for more to join.
The "next decade" plan (2004-2013) has been three-fold:
- Establish a long-term, real-time presence on the ocean ridges
- Support oceanic ridge science in large-scale international research programs
- Raise public awareness of the oceanic ridge environment through education outreach initiatives
The Third Decadal Plan 2014-2023 has been developed and can be viewed here.
