ODP provides researchers around the world access to a vast repository of geological and environmental information recorded far below the ocean surface in seafloor sediments and rocks. By studying ODP data we gain a better understanding of Earth's past, present, and future. Built in 1978 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the drill ship was originally a conventional oil-drilling ship. She was refitted in 1984 and is now equipped with some of the world's finest shipboard laboratories.
Every expedition has specific scientific goals chosen through a careful review process.
The research ship has drilled in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans, including north of the Arctic and south of the Antarctic circles. Since January 1985, ODP has recovered more than 160,000 meters of cores. Upon completion of an expedition, the cores are transported to one of four repositories for curation, storage, and future research. ODP scientists are able to use these repositories much as the general public uses a library.