This scientific breakthrough allowed the team to uncover a number of secrets hidden within the depths of our planet.
Using the research vessel JOIDES Resolution, scientists drilled a 1,268-meter hole in a volcanically active section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The long piece of mantle rock extracted during drilling has given scientists a new perspective on the planet’s deep geology, and possibly on the origin of life as well. Initial results were published in the journal Science.
What the researchers reported
The mantle is the planet’s thickest layer, lying between the crust and the core. Although the mantle is usually many kilometers beneath the crust, it is exposed at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, giving scientists a “tectonic window” into this normally inaccessible layer.
“Our research began with studying the composition of the mantle and documenting the mineralogy of the extracted rocks, as well as their chemical composition,” said Professor Johan Lissenberg, the lead author of the study from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Cardiff University (UK).
Professor Lissenberg said the results surprised the team: the rocks had much less pyroxene and a very high magnesium content. That suggests far more extensive melting in the mantle than researchers had expected, IFLScience reported.
“We also discovered channels through which the melt was transported through the mantle, allowing us to track the movement of magma after its formation and its ascent to the Earth’s surface,” noted Professor Lissenberg.
Scientists said this information will help them better understand volcanoes, since mantle melt correlates with volcanic activity on the Earth’s surface.
However, the most fascinating part for many researchers is that studying the core sample could shed light on the origin of life on our planet. The sample records early interactions between water and olivine, a common mineral in mantle rocks. Those reactions can trigger a cascade of chemical processes that generate hydrogen and other molecules important for sustaining life.
“The rocks that were present on early Earth are more similar to those we extracted during this expedition than the common rocks that currently make up our continents,” explained Dr. Susan Kueh Leng from the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA).
She said the analysis let the team assess the chemical and physical environment that may have existed in Earth’s early history.
