2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of the international IMAGES program and the 20th anniversary of its emblematic coring platform: the R.V. Marion Dufresne II. Over the last 20 years, many international IMAGES coring expeditions were organized in all the ocean basins around the world on board the R.V. Marion Dufresne, which has unique sedimentary coring facilities originally developed by the Institute Paul Emile Victor (IPEV). More than 500 cores were retrieved leading to major advances in the paleoceanography and paleoclimatology of the Late Quaternary. Ongoing refurbishment and new instrument/infrastructure developments on the R.V Marion Dufresne will improve her coring capacity and equip her with the highest quality acoustic tools for another 20 years of successful paleoceanographic expeditions. In order to celebrate this anniversary and in anticipation of future paleoceanographic activities of the MD, this session welcomes scientific contributions about paleoceanographic research based on the “MD” giant piston cores. This session also welcomes contributions on the training programs that the attractivity of the IMAGES cruises and the logistic of the Marion Dufresne made possible such as the “University at Sea” and the “Teachers at Sea”.