APPENDIX B — OCEAN SEDIMENT CORING 



PROGRAM 



Deep Sea Drilling Project 



The Ocean Sediment Coring Program (OSCP) seeks precise 

 comprehension of the origin, structure, dynamics, geologic history, 

 and broad resource potential of the outer crustal layers of the earth 

 that presently lie beneath the sea. Achievement of these goals is 

 being realized through the OSCP's major activity — the Deep Sea 

 Drilling Project (DSDP). The DSDP provides core samples from the 

 entire oceanic sequence of buried sedimentary strata and portions of 

 the underlying crystalline rocks by employing advanced drilling 

 technology to penetrate deep into the sea floor. The DSDP was 

 authorized in 1966 and began Phase I drilling in August 1968. Phase 

 II extended the project from February 1970 to August 1972. Phase III, 

 presently underway, will terminate drilling in August 1975. The 

 drilling ship Glomar Challenger, which was specially designed and 

 equipped for this task, has now (as of November 1, 1973) obtained 

 crustal samples from 313 sites located in all the major oceans and 

 seas of the world, except the Arctic. 



The prime contractor for the DSDP is the University of California, 

 which delegated management responsibility to the Scripps 

 Institution of Oceanography (SIO), a part of the University of 

 California at San Diego. Global Marine, Inc. (GMI) of Los Angeles, 

 an experienced marine drilling company, owns Glomar Challenger 

 and operates the ship under a subcontract with the University of 

 California. Scientific advice and guidance for the DSDP is provided 

 by a series of advisory panels composed of noted earth scientists 

 chosen from a wide spectrum of universities, government agencies, 

 and private agencies all over the world. The panels are coordinated 

 under the auspices of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep 

 Earth Sampling (}OIDES)^ the group of oceanographic institutions 

 that conceived the original plan for the DSDP. The drilling schedule 

 is divided into a series of 2-month cruise legs, each of which is 

 staffed by a different scientific party composed of about 10 senior 

 earth scientists. The analysis of core samples begins on board 

 ChaJJenger as soon as they are cqllected, and continues subsequently 

 in shore-based laboratories. Results of the first comprehensive 

 analyses are published in a series of volumes, one for each leg, 

 entitled Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. 



The 10,400-ton Glon\ar Challenger was launched in early 1968, 

 having been designed and constructed as an offshore drilling ship 

 and modified specifically to meet the unique requirements of the 

 DSDP. The ship is 400 feet long and is equipped amidship with the 



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