Deep Earth Sampling WG Discussion

***Dear WG members and guests,
I just subscribed all members and guests of the Deep Earth Sampling WG to a "Group" on the InterRidge website. This new "Group" feature allows for comments posted to this Group to be emailed to all subscribed email addresses. To post comments to the Group, you first have to log on to the InterRidge website with your Username and Password, then go to the Deep Earth Sampling WG in the upper right menu, then open the Discussion webpage (http://www.interridge.org/node/5584), and add a Comment.
Below, I am copying the email that Benoit sent earlier today, as our first test of the "Group" feature. Thanks! Stace***

Dear Deep Earth Sampling Working Group members and guests,

It's been a relatively quiet year for this working group, with another year without IODP expedition, and no meeting or workshop activity for us.
I'm supposed to send an update to InterRidge by sept 12; here are a few points on which I'd like all of you to comment on. Please feel free to add other points that you think should appear in the coming update.

Note that I'll be leaving for a cruise (Rainbow) next saturday ([Aug] 23). If needed, you should be able to email me at Benoit.Ildefonse@atalante.ifremer.fr from ~August 25-26 to sept 14-15 (limited email connection, no large attached files please)

Best,
Benoit

Future of the WG_ I received only 4 answers to my prebious message on this issue (see attached compilation in case you have missed it). It's not particularly easy to combine the answers but here's a proposed outline :
- The WG should continue, with a more focused mandate on deep drilling, in the continuity of Mission Moho activities. The WG should serve as a link between the community and IODP (explore possibilities of formal link with IODP. However, IODP most likely cannot make it one of its own committes as suggested by J Natland), contribute to refining the deep drilling objective(s) (which so far include axial mantle), be pro-active whenever feasible in coordinating drilling proposals (through meetings/workshops for instance? the problem here is our limited financial capacity), and be pro-active in promoting technology/engineering development discussions/activities.
- A better interaction with other groups/individuals working on scientific planning related to deep biosphere objectives is desirable. I hope Wolfgang Bach and Katarina Edwards can help us to do so.
- Drillind in ophiolites : This is complementary to ocean drilling, explicitely listed in the InterRidge science plan, and there is an existing Oman drilling project that needs to be reactivated and resubmitted to ICDP. I'd suggest that we maintain this in our mandate
- Drilling active hydrothermal systems : This is not in Mission Moho objectives, and may be better served by another working group? Although it may be occasionally related to the deep biosphere issue mentioned above.
- Zero-age drilling : never worked, didn't make any progress for years, very unlikely to be a priority for IODP in the near future.

WG membership_ Given the proposed evolution of the WG, do you wish to stay in as a member (or a guest), and participate to discussions, even when held electronically?

Meeting(s)_ It's been difficult in the passed to organize a meeting, but as Katrina, I do think that it is important to try. We can do a lot by electronic communication but is not enough. I'd like to try again, at the coming AGU. As it is very difficult to anticipate on everybody's activities during the meetig itself, what about a meeting on the sunday (morning or afternoon) just before (i.e., december 14)? Another option would be an evening sometime during the week, trying not to conflict with town meetings and parties that you use to go to.

Magellan workshop "Lithospheric heterogeneities, hydrothermal regimes, and links between abiotic and biotic processes at slow spreading ridges"_ This workshop will be held next month in Montpellier (September 10-12). The organizers (Marguerite Godard, Gretschen frueh-Green, and Chris McLeod) have received 3000$ from InterRidge to be able to invite a few people from countries other than those funding the Magellan workshop series. They expect about 20 participants.

Bremen 09 Summer School_ Wolfgang Bach and I are organizing a summer school next year (provisional schedule is August 31 - September 11, 2009) with the colleagues from Marum and the IODP core repository in Bremen. A first call will be sent during the fall. We hope to attract about 30 PhD students and young Postdocs, to work on geodynamics of mid-ocean ridges, with a focus on drilling results (and projects) in the Atlantic. We will take advantage of the Atlantic cores being stored in Bremen to conduct practical courses using IODP cores and samples. The summer school is primarily sponsored by GLOMAR and MARUM in Bremen, and by ECORD. We received 3000$ from InterRidge to open the participation to students/instructors from non-ECORD countries.