One ship has been responsible for most scientific ocean drilling over the past half-century. Soon, scientists plan to use it to get closer than ever to the earth's mantle in search of the origins of life.
Researchers plan to take drillship samples from new depths to see if a special mix of rock and water could have spawned life on Earth and beyondIn April, two dozen geologists, microbiologists and other scientists will sail from Portugal aboard the Joides Resolution, a former oil drillship turned research vessel, to the Atlantis Massif, a 14,000-foot underwater mountain rising from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
Collecting samples at this depth will help the scientists investigate a special mix of rock and water. Geochemists think a process called serpentinization could have spawned life on Earth and possibly other planets.Olivine, a green, magnesium-rich mineral abundant at such depths, is critical to serpentinization, which occurs when some minerals encounter seawater. Research suggests the process generates the energy and geochemical conditions favorable to the creation of organic molecules.
But getting there is still not easy. Engineers on the ship plan to lower heavy drilling tools through about 5,400 feet of water to find a hole on the seafloor that is about 15 inches wide. They compared the process to standing on a chair and trying to lower a pencil tied to the end of string into the mouth of a soda bottle with a fan blowing.The ship has been responsible for most scientific ocean drilling over the past half-century.
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