2011 年 25 巻 3 号 p. 213-220
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is operating a scientific drilling vessel CHIKYU which is an ultra-deep water drillship. The CHIKYU is operated under an international science program, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), and her primary mission is to drill the deep sea floor and to explore the deep earth for science research. She is sometimes engaged in the exploration of natural resources. In this paper, outline of the CHIKYU and drilling techniques for deep ocean floor are described.