Scientists to reach Earth's mantle with an undersea drill

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Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's (JAMSTEC) largest drilling ship called "Chikyu" are planning to use it to drill into the earth’s mantle.
Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's (JAMSTEC) largest drilling ship called "Chikyu" are planning to use it to drill into the earth’s mantle.

Tokyo : To know about what is dug deep down in earth is always interesting to know. We would have known a lot about what is under Earth’s crust if Jules Verne’s Icelandic Volcano were a hint of the imagination. Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's (JAMSTEC) largest drilling ship called "Chikyu" are planning to use it to drill into the earth’s mantle.

The JAMSTEC-led team will organize a two week in the study in Hawaii Waters this September. They will first decide whether this is the right place to dig or not. And in case if the location does not work, they will look at other options at waters off Costa Rica and off Mexico. All of these three locations are in ocean as the continental crust is twice as thick as the oceanic crust.

The drill will have to pass through 2.5 miles of water and 3.7 miles of crust to reach the mantle. Which on a rough average make up 84% of planet’s volume.  It is the silicate shell which flows slowly and effects volcanic activity plus the motion of tectonic plates which causes earthquakes. Japanese government is helping by partial funding for the project as they think it will lead to better ways to find the surface phenomena.

The researchers also will look into the boundary between the oceanic crust and the mantle to figure out the formation of crust. Also they want to see microbial life exists inside the planet.

The scientists are planning to begin the drill by 2030 at the max. Till then they will find the perfect location and the funding to get the $542 million for the project.