Virtual Site Survey of Pernambuco Plateau, Brazil in support of IODP 864: Origin, Evolution and Palaeoenvironment of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway

We propose to exploit a new collaboration between academic and industrial partners to complete a Virtual Site Survey of the Pernambuco Plateau, NE Brazilian Atlantic Margin, in support of Full Proposal 864 to the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) entitled "Origin, Evolution and Palaeoenvironment of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway".

The Cretaceous rift basins of the tropical South Atlantic were globally significant sites of organic carbon production, biotransformation and burial. These conditions changed irreversibly with the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway, a fundamental reconfiguration of the world's oceans. Large uncertainties remain in the timing, process and impacts of this gateway opening. IODP Pre-Proposal 864 outlined a drilling programme on the Brazilian Margin to address these pressing issues. In July 2014 the IODP Science Evaluation Panel (SEP) recommended development of Pre-Proposal 864 into a Full Proposal. However, the SEP stated that legacy seismic data images included in the Pre Proposal do not adequately image the target drilling locations. IODP require clearer seismic images of target strata and geological architectures in the Full Proposal.

The primary objective of this proposal is to assemble the complete site survey package necessary for acceptance and implementation of Full Proposal 864 without need for an expensive and time-consuming ship-based expedition. Project Partner ION Geophysical will make available a regional seismic survey known as BrasilSpan(TM) for our Virtual Site Survey. The quality and size of this industrial dataset eclipses anything that could be achieved by an academic ship-borne survey. We will combine this imagery with reprocessed older geophysical data and local geological knowledge provided by our Project Partner at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil.

The detailed, extensive and deep imaging of the Brazilian Atlantic Margin provided by the BrasilSpan survey provide unique opportunities to build a detailed geological model of the Pernambuco Plateau drill target, as well as to assess drilling safety concerns and risk to science objectives. These objectives will generate stand-alone and publishable scientific results, as well as providing a firm foundation for the science goals of the proposed drilling expedition. This work will also benefit the hydrocarbon industry by enhancing geological knowledge in a frontier part of the Brazilian Atlantic Margin.

The central science goal of the related IODP drilling proposal is to provide a step change in understanding the tectonics, timing and environmental consequences of progressive opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway. These are divided into four key sub-themes: (i) to provide new constraints on the timing and tectonics of the Cretaceous Equatorial Atlantic Gateway (EAG) opening and its consequences for global biogeochemical cycles, black shale formation, and the evolution of marine biota; (ii) to constrain deep biosphere communities in petroleum systems by drilling immature Cretaceous (source) and Tertiary (reservoir) successions as well as fluid migration routes from deeper buried units; (iii) to generate multi-proxy records of tropical marine and terrestrial environments under conditions of extreme warmth; and (iv) to test the resilience of tropical ecosystems to major environmental perturbations during greenhouse climate states, effectively testing the "limits of life" under conditions of extreme warmth.

This Virtual Site Survey will impact industry, higher education and international relations. UK government, industry and HE sector are working to establish closer collaborative relationships with Brazilian institutions as Brazil grows in international stature. The University of Birmingham is a major player in UK-Brazil relations. Our leadership of IODP Proposal 864 to drill offshore Brazil supported by this VSS will expand this UK-Brazil collaboration in future.

The world's largest oilfield discoveries of the past two decades have been on the Brazilian Atlantic Margin, and have contributed to Brazil's growing influence on the global economy. A clearly stated objective of the UK government Science and Innovation Network is to influence the science and innovation policy of Brazilian government, industrial and HE sectors to benefit the UK. Multi-party research collaborations between UK and Brazilian academia and industry are central in establishing such influence. The University of Birmingham (UoB) has been pioneering: its programme for strategic support of research collaborations with Brazilian HE institutions won the Outstanding International Strategy Award in the 2014 Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards. We have directly benefited from this proven expertise of the UoB International Office and Business Engagement Division, who first facilitated the collaboration between UoB and UFPE, and will continue to use this to ensure maximal societal and industrial impact from this project.

This proposal will directly impact the HYDROCARBON INDUSTRY. Our VSS targets an exploration frontier within the Brazilian Atlantic Margin. New seismic interpretations from this VSS and the proposed IODP drilling operations will be undertaken alongside and in direct collaboration with a number of industry partners, mostly through UK-based companies or through the UK offices of major global enterprises. In the first instance, new detailed seismic interpretations undertaken in this project will be fed back to Project Partner ION Geophysical to inform their use of the BrasilSpan dataset with commercial clients. Secondly, the funding framework within Brazil makes industry-IODP co-funding of scientific ocean drilling on the Brazilian margin a realistic possibility. We established academic-industrial collaborations at the earliest stages of Pre-Proposal 864 and continue to actively develop these. A BG Brasil representative is a proponent on Pre-864, whilst a MagellanPlus workshop "Drilling the Cretaceous and Paleogene South Atlantic", funded by ECORD and co-convened by Co-I Dunkley Jones, is scheduled for 2-4 February 2015. One of the express aims of this workshop is to develop academic-industry collaborations in the preparation of full proposals from IODP Pre-840 and Pre-864.

HIGHER EDUCATION partnerships are making major contributions to UK-Brazil collaboration, stimulated by schemes such as the Science without Borders Program, a nationwide scholarship program primarily funded by Brazilian federal government. UoB has taken a lead in developing mutually beneficial partnerships with leading Brazilian institutions to enhance researcher mobility, doctoral training and educational collaboration. In their first 2 years these schemes enrolled >100 Brazilian undergraduate students and >25 PhD students and welcomed >25 visiting fellows. The UoB Geosystems Research Group is a major player and currently hosts 4 Brazilian PhD students as well as receiving 2 visiting researchers this year, one of which is Project Partner Haydon Mort. Our leadership of IODP Proposal 864 to drill the NE Brazil continental margin, supported by this VSS, will expand and strengthen these collaborations.

Finally, we seek to use excitement generated by Scientific Ocean Drilling to ENGAGE THE PUBLIC in the fundamental questions addressed by Pre 864. Of particular relevance to 21st century society are the long-term relationship between greenhouse gas forcing and temperature under conditions of high atmospheric CO2; the magnitude of tropical warming during long-term warm climate states and across transient hyperthermals; and resilience of tropical ecosystems under conditions of extreme warmth. We will achieve this by working to deliver a high quality temporary exhibition within the newly refurbished (2015) Lapworth Museum of Geology.