Researchers on board the JOIDES Resolution have cut the rock cores in half. Photo credit: Lesley Anderson/US Antarctic Program & IODP JRSO. 
Christian Garavaglia Meteor Covered Argentina 06/20/2023 13:50 5 mins
For the first time in history, scientists succeeded Mine rocks from the Earth’s mantle after drilling through the earth’s crust. The mantle, lying between the core and the crust, has proven impenetrable even with the most advanced instruments We only know the composition of its minerals from the rocks ejected by some geological processessuch as volcanic eruptions.
This feat is a milestone in the exploration of the planet’s interior and promises to reveal valuable information about its structure and composition.
The “Lost City”, a direct window to the Earth’s mantle
in the crust of the continents, The mantle generally begins at a depth of 33 km. In the ocean crust, however, it is found at a much smaller distance, in some areas even less than 7 km below the sea floor.
If digging under the sea crust is an advantage in itself, the scientists aboard the scientific drillship are an advantage jokesfrom the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), met in an even more privileged place: the massif of Atlantis. In this seamount, which is very close to the MidAtlantic Ridge, is the hydrothermal field known as “City lost“, an area where rocks are continuously being pushed out of the Earth’s mantle to the surface.
Because it’s a sort of direct window to the Earth’s mantle, specialists didn’t have to dig at the bottom of the sea to find the rocks native to this region: they found them a little further up 1 km deep.
The Joides ship is equipped with a series of drill pipes that are gradually installed to gain depth At the tip is a rotary drill that does the drilling. Using a construction cranelike principle, the team penetrates deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean.
Cylindrical samples with a temperature of 200 °C
From the excavation, the IODP geologists were able to recover pieces of a dark material in the form of tubes or capsules.
These cylindrical specimens, which had a temperature of over 200 °C, were one kilometer long and gray to green in color.
From left to right, Rebecca Kuehn from the University of Halle, Barbara John from the University of Wyoming and Andrew Parsons from the University of Plymouth discuss the structural properties of samples. Photo credit: Lesley Anderson/US Antarctic Program and JRSO of the IODP.
In the preliminary analysis on board the ship, the scientists assume that this is the case Rock samples composed primarily of peridotite (the most common rock type in the upper mantle).
These also included asbestosTherefore, due to its association with the development of cancers, its handling had to be done under certain safety protocols.
They want to find out under what conditions life arose
Although more research is needed, scientists are excited about the possible discovery of rocks straight from the Earth’s mantle. Detailed analyzes are being carried out on land to determine the true nature and provenance of these samples, taking into account the possibility of alterations by seawater. At the same time, the team is preparing for it Collect samples from deeper rocks and explore their complex composition.
The experts initially did not want to get rocks out of the earth’s mantle with the expedition, but only to find out under what conditions life arose millions of years ago. Now they guarantee The deep tunnel was drilled (called U1601C) will be used for numerous investigations different scientific disciplines in the future.