Medford, NJ — The Paleogene Earth Perturbations–U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain (PEP-US) project is set to return to Medford, New Jersey, from September 22 to October 3 to drill two new scientific boreholes targeting one of Earth’s most dramatic climate events: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). This international research seeks to uncover expanded sedimentary records of extreme global warming and carbon cycle disruption that occurred 56 million years ago and additional climate perturbations that followed, the Early Eocene hyperthermals.
Funded by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS), PEP-US is coring and logging sites across the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Medford site follows a successful 2023 campaign in Sandtown, Delaware, where researchers recovered critical data and launched student-led projects, including identifying an expanded Eocene hyperthermal section by Rutgers PhD student F. Nishi.
The upcoming Medford drilling will occur at the Medford Maintenance Center off Gravely Hollow Road. The DGS will oversee drilling and logging operations, with support from Rutgers University students and collaborators from the University of Delaware, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Case Western Reserve University, and William & Mary. The new boreholes aim to capture a more complete record of the PETM onset, which was truncated in earlier shallow auger cores collected in 2016.
Recovered cores will be archived at the Rutgers-IODP Core Repository on the Livingston Campus, where students and scientists will gather to describe, log, and sample the material. Rutgers geology classes will visit the site, and local schools will be invited to participate in educational outreach activities.
“We’re thrilled to return to Medford,” said Dr. Kenneth G. Miller, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. “This site holds personal meaning for me—I grew up just three miles away—and global significance for understanding ancient climate change. It’s a perfect example of the motto: Jersey Roots, Global Reach.”
The PEP-US project continues to demonstrate the power of collaborative science, combining cutting-edge research with hands-on education and community engagement.