Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling

Also known as: JOIDES

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June 29, 2026

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The Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) was a program that utilized extensive drilling into the seafloor to study the Earth's crust beneath the oceans. The program's work, initially carried out by the ship Glomar Challenger and later by the JOIDES Resolution, provided crucial evidence supporting the theory of plate tectonics, including data on continental drift and seafloor renewal. This research helped establish a relatively simple model of oceanic crust formation at rift zones where mantle material wells up, cools, and solidifies. The program investigated numerous sites across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, contributing significantly to our understanding of geological processes and Earth's history.12

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Earth exploration
Conclusions about the deep Earth
…into the seafloor under the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) program has established a relatively simple picture of the crust beneath the oceans (see also undersea exploration). In the rift zones where the plates comprising the Earth’s thin crust separate, material from the mantle wells upward, cools,…
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…into the seafloor under the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) program has established a relatively simple picture of the crust beneath the oceans (see also undersea exploration). In the rift zones where the plates comprising the Earth’s thin crust separate, material from the mantle wells upward, cools,…
Read More