Glomar Challenger

The Glomar Challenger first set sail on March 23, 1968. This expedition was the beginning in oceanography and marine geology studies. What most people don't know is that the Glomar Challenger was built in orange, Texas. Its' name also originated from the words "global", and "marine", a dedication to the HMS Challenger. The DSDP (deep sea drilling program) began a fifteen year expedition with the Glomar Challenger where they took core samples of the ocean floor. This information gathered helped greatly in the understanding of plate tectonics and sea floor spreading theories. One of the most important discoveries was made during its fifteen year expedition. The crew drilled 17 holes at 10 different sites along a oceanic ridge between South America and Africa. The core samples retrieved proof for continential drift and seafloor renewal at rift zones. This confirmation of Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift strengthened the proposal of a single ancient land mass, which we know as Pangaea.