- Glomar Challenger
The 120m long "Glomar Challenger" was a
deep sea research andscientific drilling vessel foroceanography andmarine geology studies. It was designed by the AmericanNational Science Foundation andUniversity of California . The vessel was operated by the Global Marine cooperation. The "Glomar Challenger" was given its name as a tribute to the accomplishments of the oceanographic survey vessel HMS "Challenger". Glomar is a truncation of Global Marine.Accomplishments
Starting from August 1968, the ship embarked on a year-long scientific expedition, the
Deep Sea Drilling Program , criss-crossing theMid-Atlantic Ridge betweenSouth America andAfrica and drilling core samples at specific locations. When the age of the samples was determined by paleontologic andisotopic dating studies, this provided conclusive evidence for theseafloor spreading hypothesis, and, consequently, forcontinental drift .In 1970, when doing research in the
Mediterranean Sea , geologists aboard the vessel brought up drill cores containinggypsum ,anhydrite , rock salt, and various otherevaporite minerals that often form from drying of brine or seawater. These were the first solid evidence for the ancientdesiccation of theMediterranean Sea , theMessinian salinity crisis .Scrapping
After being in operation for fifteen years the "Glomar Challenger" was taken out of active duty in November 1983 and was later scrapped. In 1985 its successor, the "
JOIDES Resolution ", was launched.ee also
*
Mediterranean Sea
*Scientific drilling
*Continental Drift
* USNS "Glomar Explorer" (T-AG-193)External links
* [http://www-odp.tamu.edu/glomar.html Glomar Challenger: Drillship of the Deep Sea Drilling Project]
* [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_038600_glomarchalle.htm Ships of the World: Glomar Challenger]
* [http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/platforms/html/Glomar_Challenger.html USGS CMG Platform (Glomar Challenger) Data & Metadata]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.