Deep sea drilling project

As early as 1957 earth scientists discussed the possiblity of drilling a hole through oceanic crust to the Mohorovicic discontinuity. The project became known as the Mohole Project and was supported by the National Science Foundation. The first hole was drilled in 1961. The Mohole Project was terminated in 1966. In 1964, a consortium of oceanographic institutions, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) was formed, and in 1965 the group submitted a proposal to NSF to drill sediments and shallow basement rocks in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and adjacent seas. In 1966 with NSF funding, the Deep Sea Drilling Project was operated at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). In January 1967, SIO signed a contract with the National Science Foundation to manage the drilling program. By March 1987 the project had expended over 226 million dollars. The Deep Sea Drilling Project contract ended in 1987 the drilling operations were moved to Texas A&M.

From the description of Records, 1961-1987, bulk 1966-1987. (University of California, San Diego). WorldCat record id: 154306116