Project Mohole was an ambitious attempt to drill through the Earth's crust into the Mohorovičić discontinuity, and to provide an Earth science complement to the high profile Space Race. The project was suggested in March 1957 by Walter Munk, a member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Earth Science Panel. It was led by the American Miscellaneous Society (AMSOC) with funding from the NSF.

Project Mohole was to include three phases, the first consisting of an experimental drilling program, the second consisting of an intermediate vessel program, and the third consisting of the final drilling to the Mohorovicic Discontinuity.

Once initial funds for Project Mohole had been obtained from NSF, AMSOC in 1958 took charge of the effort as an official study unit of the National Research Council's Division of Earth Sciences.

Project Mohole contracted with Global Marine of Los Angeles for the use of its oil drillship called CUSS I. A consortium of Continental, Union, Superior and Shell Oil Companies (CUSS) had originally developed it in 1956 as a technological test bed for the nascent offshore oil industry. While "CUSS I" was one of the first vessels in the world capable of drilling in water depth up to 600 ft, Project Mohole expanded its operational range by virtually inventing what is now known as dynamic positioning.

Phase One was executed in spring 1961. Off the coast of Guadalupe, Mexico, five holes were drilled, the deepest at 183 m (601 ft) below the sea floor in 3,500 m (11,700 ft) of water. This was unprecedented: not in the hole's depth but because of the depth of the ocean and because it was drilled from an untethered platform. Also, the core sample proved quite valuable, showing Miocene age sediments in the first layer of the crust, and a second layer - the lowest 13 m (44 ft) - comprised of basalt.

Phase One proved that both the technology and expertise were available to drill into the Earth's mantle. After the unprecedented success of Phase One, it was decided to shift operational control to NSF while maintaining the AMSOC Committee as project adviser. This relationship proved to be unsatisfactory, and after a series of negotiations and redefined agreements with NSF, the AMSOC Committee in 1964 dissolved itself. Following the AMSOC Committee's dissolution, two new National Academies committees continued to advise the NSF Mohole activity until Congress, objecting to increasing costs and poor management, discontinued the project toward the end of 1966, before Phase II drilling could begin.

References

• Oral History Interview. Willard Bascom, 1993.
• Oral History Interview. Robert Bauer, 1993
• Chandler, G. N. Experimental deep water drilling--Project Mohole (Motion picture), Global Marine Exploration Co., 1961. LCN: fi 68000006
• Milton Lomask, "A Minor Miracle: An Informal History of the National Science Foundation." NSF

See also

• Ocean Drilling Program
• Deep Sea Drilling Program
• Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
• Boring (mechanical)
• Inferno (Doctor Who), an episode of the British sci fi series Doctor Who with a similar plot ending in disaster.

External links

• NSF Ocean Drilling Program
• Project Mohole photo gallery
• NAS - Project Mohole

Geophysics | Marine geology

Mohole | Mohole | Project Mohole