* the nature of gas hydrates that lie beneath continental margins;
* climate history, extreme climates;
* rapid climate change;
* the role of continental break-up in sedimentary basin formation;
* the formation of volcanic rifted margins and oceanic plateaus through time; and
* drilling to Earth's mantle to examine and monitor a complete section of oceanic crust

Tools critical to these goals included a riser-equipped drilling vessel, a riserless vessel, additional platforms