No proposal is fully rejected, but they can be sent back with edits and suggestions until fully accepted.
Next, the team and chief scientists have to select an area that the JOIDES Resolution will drill at. With her many capabilities, including a fully equipped 18,000 square meter lab stack, accommodations for an extensive science party, and, of course, the star of the show, a 70-meter high derrick on the back of the ship, she is completely capable of getting seafloor samples in different depths. The deciding factor of when the expedition will start is when the proposed area will be on the same path as the JR for the next few years. For instance, if you want to do an expedition in the Atlantic Ocean, you won’t run that expedition until the ship has a port to stay at in the Atlantic Ocean.
So, now we have our location and our ship, we need scientists! Many scientists and outreach officers from around the world apply for a coveted spot on the expedition. The first round of applications goes through IODP. They narrow the candidates in each department (sedimentology, microbiology, paleomagnetism, geochemistry, paleontology, etc.), and the lucky few that make it through that round move on to interviews with the Chiefs themselves to see if they are the right fit for their expedition.
Even though the above was explained in a few paragraphs, the whole process can take years. Science is all about patience, these processes often take time. For instance, the proposal for Expedition 402 was sent in 2015! Now, with all the spots filled and the ship packed full of supplies (food, equipment, coffee, beach chairs), we are finally ready to head off to collect the cores!
Once we get on location, the drilling process begins!
