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Andy Kingdon writes ... Dear Colleagues, There are currently no UK applicants for this leg between 5 Mar (Guam) - 11 April 2001(Kaohsiung, Japan); formal staffing will begin in late summer. Preliminary details available at http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/tnotes/fy0102/195ab.html. (partially reprinted below). Fuller details will be placed here shortly. There are currently few geophysicists / seismologists involved in ODP in the UK, so please pass these details onto any geophysicists etc. who may be interested in your departments best regards, ANDY KINGDON ******************************************** Plate consuming boundaries are concentrated in the Western Pacific area. It is most suitable region to study the dynamics of plates undergoing subduction, formation and evolution of island arcs and marginal seas, and the relation of these processes to mantle convection. Over the past years a dense regional geophysical network has been established on land. The network in Japan is one of the densest arrays of seismic stations in the world, and good coverage extends throughout eastern Asia. However, the land network must be supplemented by stations to provide data from the mid-ocean floor and from the plate subduction boundary. Development of the ocean seismic network is proceeding using ODP boreholes that are outfitted as long-term geophysical observatories. They provide unique seismic data hitherto unavailable. These data help quantify the dynamics of subducting plates from their entry into the mantle to their destruction in the deep mantle. The proposal for the Western Pacific Geophysical Network called for two sites which were endorsed by the International Ocean Network (ION). The long-term ocean seismic observatory network was included as an initiative in the ODP Long Range Plan (LRP) as a contribution to the Global Seismic Network. The GSN has been successful is resolving the earth's interior from land and island based seismic installations, but still lacks coverage in large areas of the oceans. Two Western Pacific sites are designed to aid study of earthquake dynamics, the dynamics of the subducting plates, the formation of island arcs, and the relation of these processes to mantle convection. The first of the sites is scheduled for drilling during FY 00 and the second is scheduled here for drilling in 2001. Long-term seismic observatories will be installed at both sites. Both observatories will be connected to nearby telecommunications cables, in future ******************************************** Andrew Kingdon UK ODP Programme Manager British Geological Survey Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK Phone: +44 (0)115 936 3415 Fax: +44 (0)115 936 3549 Email: [log in to unmask] http://www.bgs.ac.uk/odp http://www.british-geological-survey.co.uk %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%