Drilling the Neoproterozoic

We propose a Workshop to discuss a multidisciplinary international research effort that will utilise drilling to accelerate research of the environmental and biological evolution and re-organisation of the Earth System during the Neoproterozoic, arguably one of the most profound time intervals of Earth history. The initiative will require coordinating the drilling and coring of numerous key successions that archive the main biogeochemical events of Neoproteorozoic time on numerous cratons. We envision that these efforts and the ensuing research programmes would be structured and managed through an alliance of integrated, multidisciplinary research teams.

The Neoproterozoic Era experienced supercontinental tectonics, global-scale glaciations (i.e. Snowball Earth), a putative second global oxygenation event (termed the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event, or NOE), and the diversification of eukaryotes followed by the rise of animals (Fig. 1). Such a concentration of hallmark events in the evolution of our planet is unparalleled and, although they are the focus of numerous exciting areas of study that in many instances define the forefront of interdisciplinary research between climatology, palaeobiology, geochemistry geochronology and geology, many outstanding questions remain to be answered (see section 3).

The main objectives of the Workshop will be to:

• Bring key researchers together to discuss and plan collaboration for advancing research on the Neoproterozoic Era;
• Discuss, broker and prioritise key target localities and stratigraphic intervals and prioritise strategies for formulating drilling proposals;
• Discuss and plan a community-guided, data-management and -archiving environment;
• Discuss science themes, organise scientific teams and outline leaders’ and members’ responsibilities;
• Discuss potential sources of financial support.
• Discuss logistical and legal issues;

The goal is to achieve for the Neoproterozoic what the IODP is accomplishing for the Cenozoic: an extensive core archive of new, high-quality geochemical, stratigraphic, paleontological and geochronological data to address robustly the exciting questions emerging regarding the conditions that transitioned Earth from the Proterozoic into the Phanerozoic. We also plan to use this proposed drilling programme as a catalyst, a transformative mechanism for instigating a global network of collaboration through open-access data archiving that will be populated by the findings of a multidisciplinary, worldwide alliance of Neoproterozoic researchers.

Joint proposals have been submitted to both ICDP and ECORD for consideration.

PDF of the workshop science case for support which has been submitted to ICDP for consideration