Ocean Drilling Program

Ocean Drilling Program, geological research program established (1984) by the United States and other nations to determine the composition of the earth beneath the ocean floor. Drilling expeditions provide information on the evolution of life forms, the creation of the earth's land masses, shifts in the earth's climate, and the location of fossil fuels. Cylindrical cores of sediment and hard rock beneath the ocean floor are removed through a drill pipe and studied. The Ocean Drilling Program is operated by Texas A & M Univ. in College Station, Tex.