Episode 9: Curtis Crooke and the Glomar Challenger

The Glomar Challenger was one of the most important deep sea drilling ships ever built, not simply because of its influence on the modern-day drill ship technology for the offshore industry, but in a broader sense, it changed the way we understood Earth’s dynamic geological and climate history. The exploration work on the Challenger over 15 years of subsurface coring in the deep oceans and in the polar regions, led to our understanding of plate tectonics and what caused climatic events in the past, such as the ice ages and periods of global warming. The success of the Glomar Challenger is a great example of how industry innovation, matched with cutting edge science and engineering, can solve problems and advance civilization through exploration. Curtis Crooke, who was inducted into the OEC Offshore Hall of Fame in 2001, helped design this famous Glomar Challenger, and spent his career with Global Marine, one of the pioneering firms in drill ship technology that paved the way for deep water exploration in the second half of the 20th century.