Japan is about to drill through the Earth's crust to 6 km below the seabed

Japanese scientists are planning to drill through the Earth's crust to the molten mantle 6 km below the seabed.

Japanese scientists will drill to a point 6 km below the seabed. Photo: JAMSTEC.

A team from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) will begin preliminary research in the waters off Hawaii in September, RT reported. They hope to learn more about how the planet formed and the composition of the Earth's mantle.

"We don't know the exact composition of the mantle yet. We've only seen some of the mantle material. The rock has a beautiful yellowish green color," said researcher Natsue Abe at JAMSTEC.

JAMSTEC's Chikyu vessel. Photo: AFP.

Researchers hope to begin drilling in 2030, and Abe is confident the project will go smoothly. Drilling will take place off the coast of Hawaii, Costa Rica or Mexico. Preliminary surveys will begin on board the JAMSTEC deep-sea research vessel Kairei, which will send out sound waves to analyze the seafloor and the structure of the Earth's crust.

The drilling will take place on JAMSTEC’s Chikyu vessel, which can drill three times deeper than similar vessels. The Japanese government also hopes the research will help them better understand earthquakes.

The mantle covers 84% ​​of the Earth's volume and is 2,900 km deep. The temperature of the mantle ranges from 1,000 - 3,700 degrees Celsius. The upper and lower mantles are divided into two regions: the asthenosphere and the lithosphere.

According to VNE