Discoveries
June 21, 2023Journey to the Core
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Geoscientists recently collected large samples of Earth’s mantle rock, a major breakthrough that could unveil more about the mysterious layer’s structure and composition, USA Today reported.
Last month, scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution vessel drilled beneath the North Atlantic Ocean floor at an underwater mountain called Atlantis Massif.
They explained that reaching the mantle is challenging because they would have to dig around 25 miles into the Earth’s crust. But drilling at the ocean floor is a bit simpler, Smithsonian Magazine added.
Drilling in the Atlantis Massif offers easier access to mantle rocks that have been brought closer to the surface through a slow process of seafloor spreading, researchers noted.
Although they didn’t drill into the mantle itself or set a record for the deepest hole drilled, they did retrieve the deepest samples of mantle rock ever obtained, from depths of up to 4,157 feet.
The team collected a record-breaking amount of mantle rock, with samples stretching to more than 3,200 feet in total length. They said the mantle samples were made up of peridotite, an igneous rock made of the minerals pyroxene and olivine that is predominately found in the upper mantle.
The new finding underscores decades of scientific investigation into Earth’s second layer.
Scientists hope that the samples can provide a better understanding of the overall composition of the Earth and the role magma plays in volcanism.
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