Glomar ChallengerIn 1968, the Glomar Challenger geological research ship was launched. In Aug 1968 it started a 15-year Deep Sea Drilling Programexploringthe Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans. The 30-ft long core samples drilled and brought up from the ocean bed in numerous locations, provided data on seafloor spreading, expanding knowledge of plate tectonics. The 120m long vessel was chartered by American science institutions: the National Science Foundation and University of California Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Its name Glomar reflected its designer and owner-operator, Global Marine Inc. (now Transocean, Inc.). The name also paid tribute to the nineteenth centuryHMS Challenger, the first global oceanography expedition ship. The ship ended its service in Nov 1983.« |
