Katrina J. Edwards, Ph.D. Director Center for Dark Energy Biosphere ...

Katrina J. Edwards, Ph.D.
Director
Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations
University of Southern California
Department of Biological Sciences
Division of Marine Environmental Biology
3616 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371
Dr. Rodey Batiza Phone: (213) 821-4390
Section Head Fax: (213) 740-8123
Ocean Sciences, Ocean Drilling Program
Email: kje@usc.edu
National Science Foundation
Re: Funding for Joides Resolution drilling legs May 5 th , 2011
Dear Rodey,
I am writing to address the announcement that IODP will be cutting back from
supporting 4 expeditions a year to only 3 next year, as they are not being fully funded
by NSF. I would like to express my own personal extreme concern about this decision for
the future of drilling for scientific research, and the pursuit of scientific knowledge
generally. I am also writing in my capacity as Director of the Center for Dark Energy
Biosphere Investigations, a newly funded Science and Technology Center. This action
devastates the types and quality of science we do and puts the entire future of the program
in jeopardy. This furthermore puts our new center in jeopardy as well – which I believe is
one of the strongest of the STCs that NSF currently supports – at considerable investment
by the foundation, by the international team of investigators from students at the
undergraduate level through faculty, and well beyond to the general public.
The science that we are doing through C-DEBI represents cutting-edge and novel
approaches within the context of drilling to approach primary questions in the life sciences,
from questions concerning the extent, activity, and consequence of life in the most remote
and largest ecosystem on our planet – that which is buried below the bottom of the ocean –
to fundamental questions concerning the very nature of evolution on Earth. These
questions have the capacity to change our core understanding of fundamental scientific
principals, and thereby our understanding of how our planet functions. Scientific
advancement in these areas will help us understand major controls on Earth’s
biogeochemical cycles, energy cycles, and the co-evolution of life and our planet over
geologic time. These problems can only be addressed by ocean drilling and can only be
solved with the support of a strong, international drilling program that is at its foundation
supported by the extraordinary leadership of the United States in alliance and collaboration
with our international partners. As with many fundamental areas of scientific advancement

and growth, the US has a proud historic record of support and achievement with the ocean
drilling program, and stands to lead the international community to a new and bright future
with the novel directions the program has taken in recent years – with studies on the deep
biosphere, active experimentation with the seafloor, and revealing remarkable records of
Earth’s history through sampling of the ocean’s interiors.
I strongly believe that further cuts in support to this outstanding program are
detrimental to its longevity and our future as a nation. I strongly endorse reinstatement of
support for the IODP and drilling for scientific advancement.
Sincerely,
Katrina J. Edwards
Cc: The C-DEBI community