Chikyu TV reports scientific expedition of Chikyu, the Deep Sea Scientific Drilling Vessel, with exciting video images.

Period : 2012.July 25 to September 30

The IODP Expedition 337 by Scientific Deep-Sea Drilling Vessel Chikyu aims to perform riser-drilling over 2,200 m below the seafloor off Shimokita Peninsula of Japan, northwestern Pacific Ocean. To understand the deep life and hydrocarbon system in marine subsurface, Expedition 337 explores the deeply buried coal formation that may produce natural gas and tackles some fundamentally important scientific questions related to the Earth and Life co-evolution.

Period : 2012.April 1 to May 24, 2012.July 5 to July 19

The JFAST project is to understand the very large fault slip that occurred near the axis of the Japan Trench during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. DV Chikyu is bound for deep sea to drill down the ocean floor to take a piece of the plate boundary fault. The team will take on challenges to understand the type and physical properties of the rocks and measure frictional heat at the fault.

Period:2007-

The Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) is a complex ocean drilling project that will be conducted over several years with multiple expedition teams of scientists from all around the world.

Chikyu vol. 7-12, 20-22

Period:2010.September 1 to October 3

By directly drilling the hydrothermal vents and sampling geological cores at Okinawa Trough, our objective is to reveal the number and variations of microbial communities below the seafloor in this active hydrothermal field. Moreover, we aim to be the first to prove the world the actual conditions of sub-seafloor ecosystem.

Chikyu vol. 1-6