Over more than 50 years, scientific ocean drilling programmes have significantly shaped our knowledge about our planet and the Earth system, and specifically improved our understanding of climate change, plate tectonics and marine geohazards. The “International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP3)” is an international scientific ocean drilling programme under the joint lead of the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and Japan.
Scientific objectives of IODP3 are summarised in the new 2050 Science Framework, which defines seven Strategic Objectives for targeted investigations:
- Habitability and Life on Earth
- The Oceanic Life Cycle of Tectonic Plates
- Earth’s Climate System
- Feedbacks in the Earth System
- Tipping Points in Earth’s History
- Global Cycles of Energy and Matter and
- Natural Hazards Impacting Society
A new development is the implementation of land-to-sea (L2S) drilling projects jointly with the “International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP)”. Such projects will help to achieve a holistic understanding of, for example, natural hazards, the interplay between fresh and seawater along coastlines, ice sheet dynamics and sea level change, or the formation of sustainable georesources.
SPP 527 provides opportunities for innovative research on data and cores from the above-listed ocean drilling programmes, but also for the preparation of future expeditions or the development of drilling tools and software. Proposals submitted under SPP 527 must have a clear link to ongoing, past or future drilling projects.
Proposals must be written in English and submitted to the DFG by 4 February 2026. Proposals are to be submitted solely via the elan portal in order to ensure proposal-related data is recorded and documents are securely transmitted.
If this is the first time you are submitting a proposal to the DFG, please note that you must register in the elan portal before you can submit your proposal. You must do so by 28 January 2026. You will normally receive confirmation of your registration by the next working day.
