DEEP OCEAN DRILLING.

The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the drilling vessel GLOMAR CHALLENGER firmly established the technical feasibility and scientific important of deep-sea drilling as a tool for geological research. A major reason for the success of DSDP was the fact that the program was able to utilize existing technology. Nevertheless, DSDP has contributed significant innovations in dynamic positioning, re-entry, drill bit design, coring tools, and heave compensation. The scientific results of DSDP have had a major impact on many branches of the earth sciences, notably global tectonics, deep sea sedimentary and stratigraphic studies, and paleoceanography. Building on the successes of DSDP, the scientific community looks forward to at least a decade of further productive investigation with the new scientific drilling vessel, JOIDES RESOLUTION.