Ocean Drilling Program with Ten Cruises Completed

Robert B. Kidd, Philip D. Rabinowitz

With the end of Leg 110 in the Barbados forearc, JOIDES Resolution, the scientific drillship of the Ocean Drilling Program, has now completed its first-phase Atlantic Ocean campaign. This paper focuses on the operational successes of the new program and identifies areas in which we expect further emphasis in the light of future scientific objectives.

An initial thrust of the program toward high-latitude drilling and zero-age ocean crustal drilling was addressed through a major commitment to engineering development. The scientific laboratory complex aboard the drillship has undergone a thorough testing during this period, and new equipment development and modifications ensure that the facilities remain continually updated.

High-latitude drilling in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay (Leg 105) and in the Norwegian Sea (Leg 104) augur well for the proposed 1987 Antarctic expeditions, since the stability of the ship and its heave-compensation capabilities showed that weather and sea state present less of a problem to core recovery than difficult downhole lithologies.

Experience with the various engineering systems that made up the bare-rock spud-in assemblage on Legs 106 and 109 suggests that there will be a continued increase in emphasis on technical innovations in the new program.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91043©1986 AAPG Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, June 15-18, 1986.