Project Mohole: the first drilling of oceanic crust
Proyecto Mohole: primera perforación de la corteza oceánica
- Date
- marzo-abril de 1961 · confidence high
- Place
- Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
- Credited to
- Willard Bascom, Harry Hess and the AMSOC committee
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
With the CUSS I vessel, held in position by thrusters rather than anchors, Project Mohole drilled five holes in the Pacific seafloor in 1961, the deepest about 183 m below the bed, passing through sediments to reach basalt. It was the first step toward reaching the mantle, an aim abandoned in 1966.
It did not reach the Moho: the project was cancelled for cost overruns in 1966. The coordinates are approximate, near Guadalupe Island.
What it led to
- deepwater ocean drilling with dynamic positioning
- the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP)