Scientists to Drill Earth's Mantle, Retrieve First Sample?

[pulledpork]

It may not be a journey to the center of the Earth, but it could be the closest thing yet.


Scientists are planning to drill all the way through the planet's miles-thick crust to Earth's deep, hot mantle and retrieve samples for the first time. The samples, they say, would rival moon rocks for sheer scientific import—and be nearly as hard to get.

"That has been a long-term ambition of earth scientists," geologist Damon Teagle told National Geographic News.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110323-earth-mantle-drill-sample-first-science-nature-teagle/?source=link_fb20110323earthsmantle

I would like your crusty opinions on this. :D

[hobbit709]

1. Let us hope the magma doesn't follow the drill bit up.

[texanwitch]

3. That is what I was thinking.

We don't need another BP type crap again.

[Poll_Blind]

4. There's absolutely nothing to worry about...unless something unexpected happens.

But we shouldn't focus on that.

What would you call it? Drill-cano? Spew-cano? Lava flute? (I could see the M$M running with this, sounds high class)

PB

[WinkyDink]

38. Like the Spanish Inquisition?

[Aristus]

46. I don't think they're expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

B-)

[Shiver]

50. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Oh come on, someone HAD to say it... :hide:

[Aristus]

68. And someone had to set you up to say it.

B-)

[Xithras]

12. Nah, even the worst case scenario isn't that bad.

Probable scenario: Nothing happens. There's little liquid magma in the mantle. You have to do deeper for that.

Bad scenario: We get unlucky and hit a magma pocket. This melts the drill, but the cooler temp of the surrounding rock will cool the rising magma and self plug the hole before it can reach the surface.

Really bad scenario: Magma makes it to the surface. Without a hot spot, though, the overall pressure would be low, and the water would cool and plug it right away.

Worst case scenario: You end up with an undersea vent, just like the tens of thousands of others that dot the ocean floor, that would erupt for a few days, or maybe a few weeks, and gradually cool off.

Nightmare scenario: Keeps erupting nonstop. In a few hundred thousand years, a new island pops up in the middle of the Pacific. How terrible.

[cemaphonic]

36. You're just not using your imagination.

Apocalyptic Scenario: The sudden release of pressure causes the Earth to deflate like a balloon.

[Shiver]

51. Still not going far enough.

Crazy Apocalyptic Scenario: We release the invulnerable and terrible lava-men, imprisoned eons ago by dinosaur scientists on the verge of extinction as a last resort before dying off, and they resuming their fiery consumption of the earth.

[Lyric]

54. And still not going far enough.

Terrifyingly Crazy Apocalyptic Scenario: The magma-spewing ocean vent starts to heat up the deeps of the ocean, and Cthulhu wakes up and bitches that his bed is too warm. He eats a few million of us, settles back down in cooler waters, and the remnant of humanity that is left must face the monumental task of breeding enough new humans to fuck up the Earth again.

:scared:

[comtec]

56. you mean a couple BILLION

a few million is literally nothing.
thats like one part of a city in Asia

[Lyric]

57. Okay, okay...a few billion.

He's REALLY cranky. :P

[pulledpork]

58. I for one

Will welcome my Cthulhu overlord...

[comtec]

55. I've seen that Dr WHO episode!!!

it was pretty good

[Hugabear]

47. I'm sure the SyFy channel could come up with some apocalyptic scenarios

And Debbie Gibson/Lorenzo Lamas would save the day

[tridim]

2. Cue unnecessary DU freak-out in 3, 2, 1.....

[FLPanhandle]

5. +1

Although I'm sort of looking forward to the comedy factor.

[Godhumor]

7. Gaia will seek revenge on us cutting away her skin! n/t

[Rex]

14. Doubtful

Cue unnecessary comment about wanting DU to freak out so said individual can have a purpose in life.

[tridim]

21. I'm still relieved that the Moon didn't explode.

C'mon, we've both been on DU for a long time and we've seen it many times.

[Rex]

24. I've seen many people wishing/needing someone to show up so they

could berate them for their ignorance, yes for years now and thankfully the admins have done away with most of the main perpetrators. OMC comes to mind, thankfully his stink is gone from DU for good.

[SidDithers]

40. Were younot here during moon-bombing mania?...nt

Sid

[Confusious]

35. AHHHHH! AHHH! PHEAR!!! LOL!!! OMG!!!

EARTHQUAKES!!! MOON EXPLOSIONS!!! AAHHHHH! PHEAR!!!
PLAYING GOD!!!!LOL!!! OMG!!!!

on edit:

VACCINES!!! WTF!!! RADIATION!!! OMG!!! AAAHHH!!!!

[Maru Kitteh]

67. It never dissapoints, the DU. n/t

[Ian David]

6. They're going to anger the Crab People.

[Rex]

17. I thought they lost the war against the Mole men.

And now have to stay in the third rim of Inner Earth.

[lunatica]

8. Isn't the stuff that comes out of volcanoes the same thing?

[pulledpork]

11. Two paragraphs address your question

Between Earth's molten core and hard, thin crust, the roughly 2,000-mile-thick (3,200-kilometer-thick) mantle contains the vast bulk of Earth's rocks. But we don't know much about them, because all we have are bits that have come to the surface via volcanoes or been trapped in ancient mountain belts.

But all these mantle samples no longer really represent mantle conditions and makeup, since they've been altered in the long process of coming to the surface, so they providing only tantalizing glimpses of what lies below, scientists say.

[NutmegYankee]

13. from the article:

Between Earth's molten core and hard, thin crust, the roughly 2,000-mile-thick (3,200-kilometer-thick) mantle contains the vast bulk of Earth's rocks. But we don't know much about them, because all we have are bits that have come to the surface via volcanoes or been trapped in ancient mountain belts.

But all these mantle samples no longer really represent mantle conditions and makeup, since they've been altered in the long process of coming to the surface, so they providing only tantalizing glimpses of what lies below, scientists say. Drilling would tell scientists not only what the mantle is like, but also reveal the nature of the Moho layer, a shadowy transitional layer at the base of the crust.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110323-earth-mantle-drill-sample-first-science-nature-teagle/?source=link_fb20110323earthsmantle

[Cameron27]

9. Very exciting!

I didn't know we had the technology yet. Thanks for posting.

[Baclava]

10. What if the drill-bit falls off after it cracks through the crust, all the way to the hollow earth?

Can the hollow-earthicans legally sue for damages?

[WCGreen]

23. The devil will steal it and use it agaist Jesus in the End Times...

[neverforget]

15. We're going to pop like a balloon

:evilgrin:

[Tesha]

16. Paging Superman!

Those little guys that glow in the dark are
going to come climbing up the shaft!

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91977/Superman-and-the-Mole-Men/



Tesha

[Poiuyt]

33. That was my first thought too!

[Terra Alta]

18. I think this is very exciting.

Of course, the fundies are going to say we are drilling into Hell...

[pulledpork]

20. LOL!

I was hoping maybe we could find new real estate for Westboro Baptist Church!

[thelordofhell]

22. You kids get the hell off of my lawn!!

:evilgrin:

[msongs]

19. they will find Pat Boone when he was young, cute, and innocuous lol nt

[Gregorian]

25. Leave Dick Cheney's soul alone!

[pulledpork]

27. He has no soul

:evilgrin:

[AnnieBW]

26. Don't wake the Silurians!

Those Homo-Reptilians will kick our asses!

[Baclava]

30. You better believe it.

the Reptilians evolved to a space-faring race millions of years ago

One day they're gonna come back, and boy are they gonna be pissed over what the hairless apes did to their planet.

[Jack Bone]

28. Drill Baby, Drill !! n/t.

[glinda]

29. Personally anything with the word "drill" in it freaks me out.

[pulledpork]

44. Especially at the dentist

:scared:

[TygrBright]

31. See Dr. Who #54: "Inferno" Let's hope it's not prophetic. n/t

[LiberalEsto]

32. But the Earth is hollow!

and the people we refer to as aliens live there with their flying saucers!

What happens if we tick them off?

:crazy:

[Motown_Johnny]

39. a cover up

[AmBlue]

34. I think we oughtta leave magma where magma belongs.

I like the earth's crust the same way I like my bread crust: WITHOUT HOLES, thank you very much! I'm having flashbacks of the BP oil disaster but with magma spewing instead of oil.... *GEESH!!*

[pulledpork]

59. So no magma cart, uh... to haul it up?

:hide:

[Dorian Gray]

63. Womp womp womp womp.......

[WinkyDink]

37. My opinion? They will rue the day.

[hayu_lol]

41. The last attempt to drill through the 'MOHO'...

was done in the 60s by the Howard Hughes designed deep-water research vessel, Glomar Explorer(which may still be berthed in San Pedro, CA). The vessel was successful in recovering a Russian sub that had sunk.

MOHO, for the uninitiated, stands for the Mohorovic(sp)Mohoroveechee layer of the crust.

You all knew this of course.

[jberryhill]

45. The Mohole

Been a long time.

[applegrove]

42. Here is to hoping they can find a way to turn the mantle into energy somehow.

[Tx4obama]

43. Instead of looking downward for a solution, look upward.

Downward things are bad: oil, gas, coal, hell
Upward things are good: solar, wind, heaven

[Urban Prairie]

48. Noooo!!

[csziggy]

49. Didn't I see this plot in a 1965 science fiction movie?

How it started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAU12PiW4NA
How it all went bad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy-ovefNVns

[patrick t. cakes]

52. MAGMA!

[NYC Liberal]

53. The headline isn't dramatic enough! Perhaps: "SCIENTISTS TO RAPE THE EARTH!!!"?

[FreeState]

60. " if all goes as planned, drilling could begin by 2020" n/t

[ReggieVeggie]

61. Crack in the World!

Didn't really look at the poster before I posted it. SEE the blonde scientist... Sheesh!

[Lyric]

62. Okay, but if the Dark One comes barreling out of there

don't say that Lews Therin Telamon didn't warn your asses. I'm looking at YOU, Mieren.

Hmmph.

[Warren DeMontague]

64. They're going to burn the crap out of the roof of their mouth.

But they're so hungry, they'll eat it anyway.

[Norrin Radd]

65. I thought Earth was hollow, with a tiny sun

in the inner sky?

[quaker bill]

66. Perhaps they will discover

a gold and diamond well. Probably not far enough down, but that stuff comes up from pretty deep.