American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations. Phase II: Space Science and Geophysics.

COCORP adapted the technology of seismic reflection profiling, which oil companies routinely used for exploring feasible drilling distances into the earth's crusts, to probe greater distances into the crust. By varying the parameters at which the instrumentation sends out and receive signals, and by processing the data to bring out signals from deeper structures, COCORP (and seismic reflection profiling projects in other countries) have made sub-surface structure a "third dimension" to surface geology. The project is managed and run out of Cornell University with advice from two panels: one for the use of techniques in data acquisition and one for the selection of sites to investigate. Geologists interested in particular locales have successfully recommended their sites to COCORP and, for some profiles, Cornell selected additional institutions to provide regional expertise.