ODP research has brought us many unexpected discoveries, for certainly 30 years ago, no one predicted ocean drilling's amazing sea stories. It brings together people from many different cultures, and from that mix come wonderful results. It's one of the largest geosciences programs on Earth, and, with many countries participating in its efforts, it's truly larger than the sum of its parts. Once the core is safely aboard ship, scientists carry the plastic-sheathed cylinder to the first of many laboratories in which it will be studied.
Geologists then begin reconstructing another chapter in Earth's history.
From Solid Core to Empty Tunnel Scientific investigation doesn't stop with the cores themselves. In a process called downhole logging, scientists lower instru- ments into drill holes to record the physical and chemical properties of the surrounding rock. Afterward, some holes may become sites of long-term observatories. Data can be retrieved from these sub-seafloor observatories using remotely operated vehicles or by submersibles. Plate tectonics, as the process of formation and subduction of Earth's crust is now known, is nearly a household word.