Scientists Journey Towards the Center of the Earth!

[Guest guest]

Asia

 

 

 

The Times January 16, 2006

 

Scientists journey towards centre of the Earth to

seek out origins of life

From Leo Lewis in Kochi Shinko

 

 

 

THE world's most technologically advanced

exploration ship sails today on a mission that may reveal the origin of life on

Earth.

The Japanese ship Chikyu intends to drill seven

kilometres (4.3 miles) below the sea bed - more than three times deeper than has

been done before. It will then raise to the surface a cylinder 1.5m (5ft) long

and 15cm wide which could contain science's first glimpse of a " living " sample

of the Earth's mantle.

 

 

 

" The 20th century was all about the origin of

matter and the universe, so it seemed useful to go to space and the Moon, " the

project's director general, Asahiko Taira, told The Times. " There were

extraordinary advances and we learnt about atoms and the Big Bang. The 21st

century is about the fundamental question of where life comes from. "

 

The ship will also be conducting research into the

origin of earthquakes. By sinking sensors beneath the Earth's crust scientists

aboard the Chikyu want to provide Japan and East Asia with the first effective

earthquake prediction system.

 

The theory behind the life sciences side of the

research is that life may have originated beneath the Earth's crust at

temperatures and pressures unknown on land or sea. The energy that provoked the

first semblance of life may also have been geothermal rather than solar.

 

Samples of mantle that have been pushed to the

Earth's surface over thousands of years have been studied by scientists but

nobody has ever seen a " living " slice or had the opportunity to see whatever

micro-organisms may be living there.

 

" This planet is home and we know so little about

what is going on just a relatively little distance below our feet. If the secret

of life exists to be seen, it is in the deep somewhere, " Dr Taira said.

 

After completing the training missions that begin

today, the ship, which cost about £350 million to build and will cost another

£50 million for every year it is drilling, will head to the Nankai Trough, 200

kilometres off the coast of Nagoya, where the sea-bed is 2.5 kilometres below

the surface.

 

The mission of discovery is not restricted to

biology. Physical samples of the mantle are also expected to deliver a rich

trove of seismological, volcanic, geological, environmental and climatological

information. The reason the Japanese project offers the prospect of such

important scientific discoveries is not depth alone.

 

The now-abandoned Russian Kola Well bored nearly

12 kilometres into the Earth, but contributed virtually nothing to science

because its entire depth was all in the crust. The Japanese project will be the

first to reach the entirely unsurveyed environment of the mantle - the next

layer of depth within the Earth - and will do so by exploiting that the Japanese

archipelago lies near to a site where main tectonic plates overlap, making it an

area where the Earth's crust is thinner.

 

By boring beneath the seabed the scientists will

take advantage that the Mohorovicic Discontinuity (the point where the crust

officially becomes the mantle) is nearer than it is on land.

 

Although the international project has the

financial and scientific involvement of the US, South Korea, several European

countries and China, it is led by the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and

Technology and is heavily funded by the Japanese taxpayer. The cost can be

justified because of what the Chikyu may find about the origins of earthquakes.

 

By drilling to record-breaking depths below areas

where tectonic plates overlap, the ship may have its sensors in place as an

earthquake begins and significantly advance the science of seismology.

 

Other areas of research include using deep rock

samples to construct a better picture of Earth's environmental history,

particularly in the areas under ice caps, which may offer clues to the baffling

question of why the polarity of the planet's magnetic field has repeatedly

switched.

 

The project's chief engineer, Kiyotaka Yamamoto,

said: " We will be drilling at possible temperatures of 200C (392F), pressures at

which we make industrial diamonds and through rock that even the oil industry

has never scratched. Of course there will be failures before we get down there,

but this is Japan's Apollo mission. "

 

A DRILL TOO FAR

 

a.. In 1957 the American scientist Walter Munk

proposed drilling through to the Earth's mantle to find out more about the

Earth's origins

 

a.. Drilling began in March 1961 off the coast of

Guadalupe in Mexico, using a former oil drillship. Five holes were drilled in

the sea bed 3,500m below sea level, the deepest reaching 183m into the crust

 

a.. The second phase of the project, which would

have continued drilling towards the mantle, was abandoned by Congress as too

expensive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Alt_Health friends,

Japanese are drilling deep down the earth to find

source of life. While praising the effort, life will

continue to be a miracle, the Truth behind the miracle

is what most believers call God; Amen.

S. M. Acharya.

 

--- Jane MacRoss <HIGHFIELD wrote:

 

>

>

>

>

> Asia

>

>

>

> The Times January

> 16, 2006

>

> Scientists journey

> towards centre of the Earth to seek out origins of

> life

> From Leo Lewis in

> Kochi Shinko

>

>

>

> THE world's most

> technologically advanced exploration ship sails

> today on a mission that may reveal the origin of

> life on Earth.

> The Japanese ship

> Chikyu intends to drill seven kilometres (4.3 miles)

> below the sea bed - more than three times deeper

> than has been done before. It will then raise to the

> surface a cylinder 1.5m (5ft) long and 15cm wide

> which could contain science's first glimpse of a

> " living " sample of the Earth's mantle.

>

>

>

> " The 20th century was

> all about the origin of matter and the universe, so

> it seemed useful to go to space and the Moon, " the

> project's director general, Asahiko Taira, told The

> Times. " There were extraordinary advances and we

> learnt about atoms and the Big Bang. The 21st

> century is about the fundamental question of where

> life comes from. "

>

> The ship will also be

> conducting research into the origin of earthquakes.

> By sinking sensors beneath the Earth's crust

> scientists aboard the Chikyu want to provide Japan

> and East Asia with the first effective earthquake

> prediction system.

>

> The theory behind the

> life sciences side of the research is that life may

> have originated beneath the Earth's crust at

> temperatures and pressures unknown on land or sea.

> The energy that provoked the first semblance of life

> may also have been geothermal rather than solar.

>

> Samples of mantle that

> have been pushed to the Earth's surface over

> thousands of years have been studied by scientists

> but nobody has ever seen a " living " slice or had the

> opportunity to see whatever micro-organisms may be

> living there.

>

> " This planet is home

> and we know so little about what is going on just a

> relatively little distance below our feet. If the

> secret of life exists to be seen, it is in the deep

> somewhere, " Dr Taira said.

>

> After completing the

> training missions that begin today, the ship, which

> cost about £350 million to build and will cost

> another £50 million for every year it is drilling,

> will head to the Nankai Trough, 200 kilometres off

> the coast of Nagoya, where the sea-bed is 2.5

> kilometres below the surface.

>

> The mission of

> discovery is not restricted to biology. Physical

> samples of the mantle are also expected to deliver a

> rich trove of seismological, volcanic, geological,

> environmental and climatological information. The

> reason the Japanese project offers the prospect of

> such important scientific discoveries is not depth

> alone.

>

> The now-abandoned

> Russian Kola Well bored nearly 12 kilometres into

> the Earth, but contributed virtually nothing to

> science because its entire depth was all in the

> crust. The Japanese project will be the first to

> reach the entirely unsurveyed environment of the

> mantle - the next layer of depth within the Earth -

> and will do so by exploiting that the Japanese

> archipelago lies near to a site where main tectonic

> plates overlap, making it an area where the Earth's

> crust is thinner.

>

> By boring beneath the

> seabed the scientists will take advantage that the

> Mohorovicic Discontinuity (the point where the crust

> officially becomes the mantle) is nearer than it is

> on land.

>

> Although the

> international project has the financial and

> scientific involvement of the US, South Korea,

> several European countries and China, it is led by

> the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and

> Technology and is heavily funded by the Japanese

> taxpayer. The cost can be justified because of what

> the Chikyu may find about the origins of

> earthquakes.

>

> By drilling to

> record-breaking depths below areas where tectonic

> plates overlap, the ship may have its sensors in

> place as an earthquake begins and significantly

> advance the science of seismology.

>

> Other areas of

> research include using deep rock samples to

> construct a better picture of Earth's environmental

> history, particularly in the areas under ice caps,

> which may offer clues to the baffling question of

> why the polarity of the planet's magnetic field has

> repeatedly switched.

>

> The project's chief

> engineer, Kiyotaka Yamamoto, said: " We will be

> drilling at possible temperatures of 200C (392F),

> pressures at which we make industrial diamonds and

> through rock that even the oil industry has never

> scratched. Of course there will be failures before

> we get down there, but this is Japan's Apollo

> mission. "

>

> A DRILL TOO FAR

>

> a.. In 1957 the

> American scientist Walter Munk proposed drilling

> through to the Earth's mantle to find out more about

> the Earth's origins

>

> a.. Drilling began in

> March 1961 off the coast of Guadalupe in Mexico,

> using a former oil drillship. Five holes were

> drilled in the sea bed 3,500m below sea level, the

> deepest reaching 183m into the crust

>

> a.. The second phase

> of the project, which would have continued drilling

> towards the mantle, was abandoned by Congress as too

> expensive

>

>

>

>

[Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

>

>

>