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
Largest organisms over . The largest organism in the world, according to mass, is the aspen tree whose colonies of clones can grow up to five miles long. The largest such colony is Pando, in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah. Another form of flowering plant that rivals Pando as the largest organism on earth in breadth, if not mass, is the giant marine plant, "Posidonia oceanica", discovered in the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands, Spain. Its length is about . It may also be the oldest living organism in the world, with an estimated age of 100,000 years. Green algae are