"Why study the earth beneath the sea ?"

　The oceans cover the majority of our planet’s surface, and help to solidify molten material forming new lithosphere. The Earth’s lithosphere is separated into plates, which move relative to each other, causing volcanic activity, earthquakes, mountain building, and various environmental changes. Life originated in the ocean, and has evolved by adapting to environmental changes, both gradual and catastrophic, resulting in the great biodiversity on Earth today. The Earth’s mantle convects in the Earth's interior, and upwells at seafloor spreading centers to become oceanic crust. Sediment covering much of the ocean floor serves as a precise recorder of the evolution of life and Earth's environmental changes. We go to sea to understand Earth history and to investigate Earth’s dynamic processes, to reveal the nature of our planet.

　OFGS is the Ocean Floor GeoScience group at ORI, and consists of faculty members, researchers, students, technicians, and support staff (see the OFGS group size at top right). We study Earth evolution and dynamic processes using many different types of data acquired worldwide during our research cruises. The research disciplines of our group cover a broad range of earth science, and we conduct research from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The group is part of an extensive global network of marine geoscientists, undertaking many collaborative international research cruises. Our group participates in more than ten research cruises per year, thus offering many opportunities for collaborative work in a vibrant and exciting research and educational environment.

"What is the educational system ?"

　Graduate students in OFGS belong to either the Department of Earth & Planetary Science in the Graduate School of Science, or the Institute of Environmental Studies in the Graduate School of Frontier Science, both within the University of Tokyo. Students choose their fields of study and methodology, participate in research cruises, analyze and interpret marine geoscientific data, and publish their results. Some students join international projects and cruises. Students have frequent opportunities to present their research in weekly seminars.