Antipode Expedition, 1970-1971

R/V MELVILLE departed San Diego on her maiden cruise on Antipode Expedition on February 14, 1970 enroute to Osaka. The expedition undertook a deep-sea geological-geophysical exploration of the western and northwestern Pacific and north and western Indian Oceans. Its purpose was to survey twenty five sites for deep sea drilling, but its stated goal was to study the age and movement of vast ocean bottom crustal masses in light of the sea-floor spreading hypothesis.

Explore the UC San Diego Digital Collections for more photos from the expedition

Report:

• Site Surveys in the North Pacific and Bering Sea from Antipode Expedition, MPL Technical Memorandum 218, 1971.