International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)

The Thrill to Drill

• © Photo, courtesy of ICDP

The desire to explore our planet and its underground goes beyond an academic interest in understanding the building blocks and structure of the Earth. One way to explore the mysterious underground is by drilling. In 1987 Germany began a deep drilling project - KTB - where the scientific community drilled a hole to a depth of 9101 meters. Building on KTB's success the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) was established. Now its membership has grown to 13 countries and two organizations.

The member countries are Germany, USA, Japan, China, Canada, Austria, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Iceland, Finland and South Africa. UNESCO is a Corporate Affiliate.