With the start of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and with plans for renewal and a new science plan for the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) in the autumn of 2013, scientific drilling in the oceans and on the continents continues to provide unique opportunities to investigate the workings of the interior of our planet, Earth’s cycles, natural hazards and the distribution of subsurface microbial life.

The past and current ocean drilling programs have brought major advances in many areas of research, including palaeoclimate, palaeoceanography, the deep biosphere, deep crustal and tectonic processes, geodynamics and geohazards. For over fifteen years ICDP has coordinated and provided support for global efforts in continental drilling, tackling challenging multidisciplinary themes of socio-economic relevance such as climate and ecosystem evolution, earthquakes and volcanism, unconventional energy resources or the role of environmental forcing in shaping human evolution.

The principal goals of this session are to summarize and review major scientific achievements in deep earth sampling and monitoring through ocean and continental drilling with special emphasis on the European contributions to IODP and ICDP. Furthermore, we encourage contributions that outline perspectives and visions for future drilling projects, in particular projects using a multi-platform approach.