National
Geographic: For the first time, scientists are planning to
drill all the way through Earth's kilometers-thick crust to the
planet's deep, hot mantle and retrieve samples, writes Richard
Lovett for
National Geographic. The samples, they say, would
rival Moon rocks for sheer scientific importand be nearly
as hard to get. Until now, suitable technology was lacking. But
better knowledge of Earth's shell and technological
advancesfor example, a Japanese drill ship equipped with
10 kilometers of drilling pipehave put the goal within
reach, according to a
commentary
in this week's issue of
Nature, cowritten by Damon Teagle, a geologist at the
University of Southampton in the UK. Mantle rocks would tell us
much about Earth’s origins and history, says
Teagle.
