5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Obtaining long continental records requires a major investment in planning, logistics, and drilling technology in order to maximize chances of successfully recovering long, high quality records. It is important to select the most promising sites, conduct pre-drilling site evaluations, and select the most suitable drilling technology to carry out a successful program. To help facilitate a unified selection of sites, participants at the PAGES Workshop agreed to form a Task Force to organize a unified Global Change initiative for the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP). Such an initiative would be a partnership between ICDP, which would support drilling operations and technology, and national or international science funding agencies, which would provide support for scientists and analytical work.
The Task Force solicited from the continental paleoclimate community two-page proposals for lakes that should be considered and prioritized for drilling support by ICDP. The proposals included a brief description of the lake(s) of choice; the rationale for selection in terms of scientific questions to be addressed, prospects for success, and logistical challenges to be anticipated; a list of participating scientists, and an estimated budget. More than 60 of these mini-proposals were submitted to the Task Force and were reviewed in October, 1995. More complete proposals were requested for the lake sites evaluated as having the highest priority by the Task Force. These materials were compiled into a five-year drilling plan, which was presented at the VIII International Contin-ental Drilling Symposium in February, 1996, in Tsukuba, Japan. The plan was also circulated to the international community for additional input. The plan was submitted to ICDP in April, 1996, as a "Prospectus for a Global Lake Drilling Initiative."
Individuals serving on the Task Force are the leaders of PEP I (V. Markgraf), PEP II (J. Dodson and Liu Tungsheng), PEP III (F. Gasse), the Baikal Drilling Project (D. Williams), the European Drilling Program (J. Negendank and S. Leroy), IDEAL (T. Johnson), and a representative from PAGES (S. Colman).
D. Williams served as head of the Task Force through submission of the "Prospectus"; S. Colman now serves in this capacity.
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