Integrated Ocean Drilling Program water. This required the use of sonar scanning equipment and a large-scale re-entry cone. Process-oriented Earth studies continued from 1985 until 2003 aboard the "JOIDES Resolution", which replaced the "Glomar Challenger" in January 1985 as DSDP morphed into the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). The "JOIDES Resolution" is named for the 200-year-old HMS "Resolution" which explored the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica under the command of Captain James Cook. The Ocean Drilling Program contributed significantly to increased scientific understanding of Earth history, climate change, plate tectonics, natural resources, and geohazards. ODP discoveries included validation of: National consortia and government funding agencies supported
Ocean Observatories Initiative the ocean from physical, chemical and biological perspectives. Lithospheric movements and interactions at plate boundaries at or beneath the seafloor are responsible for short-term events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. These regions are also host to the densest hydrothermal and biological activity in the ocean basins. The oceanic crust contains the largest aquifer on Earth. Thermal circulation and reactivity of seawater-derived fluids can modify the composition of oceanic plates, lead to the formation of hydrothermal vents that support unique micro- and macro-biological communities and concentrate methane to form massive methane gas and methane hydrate reservoirs. The four main