Source: ICSU

The Integrated Solid Earth perspective is key to the mission of ILP since the Lithosphere is the topic for focused cooperation between geology, geophysics and geotechnology and since breakthroughs in the study of the Lithosphere can only be achieved through integration of imaging and monitoring, reconstruction and process modelling.

Since 1990, ILP projects have been operating under the umbrella of four broad research themes:

1. Geoscience of Global Change
2. Continental Dynamics and Deep Processes
3. Continental Lithosphere
4. Oceanic Lithosphere

Mission and profile
The Integrated Solid Earth perspective is key to the mission of ILP since:

• The Lithosphere is the connection between the deep Earth and the Earths surface;
• The Lithosphere is the topic for focused cooperation between geology, geophysics and geotechnology (i.e. the focused interface between IUGS and IUGG);
• Breakthroughs in the study of the Lithosphere can only be achieved through integration of imaging and monitoring, reconstruction and process modelling.

New activities of ILP (Task forces) (2005-2009) and regional committees

• "EaRth Accretionary Systems (in space and time)" (ERAS)
  The orogenic belts of plate convergence are termed accretionary orogens. They form at sites of subduction of oceanic lithosphere. For lack of understanding the formation of these orogens, resolution and understanding of these processes form the central aim of this Task Force. "
• "Tectonic causes of volcano failure and possible premonitory signals" (Volcano failure)
  More than 500 million people live in hazardous zones adjacent to active volcanoes all over the world and volcano slope instability represents one of the most extreme hazards. This project will contribute to understanding the fundamentals of edifice failure in active and extinct volcanoes with special emphasis on the assessment of possible patterns of precursor geological signals.
• "Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Interactions"
  This ILP project will focus on the interaction between the lithosphere, the outer shell on which we live, and the asthenosphere and/or deep mantle. Seismic and large-period magnetotelluric surveys reveal large-scale seismic and electrical anisotropy patterns, which allow us to infer the flow patterns in the lithosphere and astenosphere. "
• "Ultra-Deep Continental Crust Subduction" (UDCCS)
  Ultra-high-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) geology provides vital clues to understanding subduction and continental collision. The International Lithosphere Program has successfully united a wide international community focusing on studies of the mineralogy, geochemistry, petrology, geochronology and tectonics of UHPM rocks and terranes. New experimental programs need to be designed for the reproduction and evaluation of a volume of partial melt occurring in rocks of diverse crustal lithologies during deep subduction. "
• "Global and regional parameters of paleoseismology; implications for fault scaling and future earthquake hazard" The three main goals of the new Task Force are to support and to promote the study of the main paleoseismological parameters, the maintenance of the worldwide database of independently- dated paleoearthquakes and to develop paleoseismic research capability. One of the initial goals is to extend the network of members of the Task Force to include expertise in geodesy, seismology, and earthquake hazard. Other goals are to plan field-training courses, workshops and conference sessions.
• "Sedimentary Basins"
  The team will work on the interactions between deep earth and surface processes, i.e., thermicity, fluid circulations and transfers, fluid-rock interactions, interactions between tectonics, erosion, sedimentation and climate. Modern aspects like new data sets will be combined with classical field studies and analogue/numerical modelling in order to provide a timely comprehensive overview of processes governing the evolution of orogenic belts and adjacent forelands.
• "Temporal and Spatial Change of Stress and Strain"
  Stress and strain are fundamental quantities which control and describe the geodynamic processes shaping the Earth. The collaborative project aims to identify, analyse and interpret the variations of crustal stress and strain patterns at diverse tectonic settings characterized by return periods for strong earthquakes in the order of 50-1000 years.
• "Baby-plumes in Central Europe"
  A number of high-resolution integrated seismic projects across the areas with Tertiary to recent volcanism in central Europe have been stimulated by the project TRACK (tracking a mantle plume by seismological means) and the ILP project II/6 in collaboration with detailed geochemical studies. These have proven the existence of a number of small-scale, almost cylindrical, upwellings of low-velocity zones of hot material, the so-called "baby-plumes". The project will focus on interdisciplinary studies of baby-plumes to further steer the debate on the origin and nature of plumes in general and their geodynamic implications.
• " TOPO-EUROPE: 4D Topography Evolution in Europe: Uplift, Subsidence and Sea Level Rise"
  Continental topography is at the interface of processes taking place at depth in the Earth, at the Earth's surface, and in the atmosphere above it. Improved knowledge of the Earth's mantle and its coupling to the lithosphere and its surface is key to understanding the enormous forces that generate these features. Time-varying phenomena include long-term tectonic effects on subsidence, uplift and river systems, and natural climatic and environmental changes. Topography influences society, not only as a result of slow landscape changes but also in terms of how it impacts on geohazards and environment. When sea-water levels rise, or land subsides, the risk of flooding increases. On the other hand, declining water levels and uplifting land may lead to higher risks of erosion and desertification. That topography influences climate is known since the beginning of civilization, but it is only recently that we are able to model its effects in regions where good topographic and (paleo)climatologic data are available.

ICDP - A flagship of ILP

Continental Drilling
The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, ICDP, closely collaborates with the Unesco geoscience programs and coordinates continental scientific drilling efforts with research topics of high international priority. The main objectives addressed in the program include geodynamics and natural hazards, volcanic systems and thermal regimes, Earth's history and climate, impact structures and mass extinctions as well as deep biosphere and gas hydrates. The scientific basis for coordinated international continental scientific drilling was laid out at a conference in Potsdam in 1993. In 1996 the first member countries, Germany, the United States and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding which gave the way for first ICDP funded operations in 1998. A strategic plan for new scientific activity of ILP was developed in 2005. The concept of participative funding and international cost sharing, in addition to the joint international character of the science teams and sharing of technological capabilities and know-how, has contributed to the success of the ICDP.