abstract:The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling or ECORD is a science consortium of 17 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and The United Kingdom) and Canada, formed in December 2003 to join the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). IODP is an international science-driven programme focusing on past climate changes, natural hazards, biodiversity and geodynamics issues by means of sampling (coring) and monitoring the sub-seafloor.