On December 18, "determination", drilling personnel through the end of months communicated with seawater pool installed on the return hole cone. Xinhua News Agency reporter jiansong Zhang photography
Xinhua News on December 20, blue Southwest India Ocean, blue skies in recent days. "Determination" ocean drilling vessel, 16th after late arrival, stopping solidly in the below latitude 32 degrees, 42 minutes, longitude 57 degrees 17 minutes goal area, ocean drilling work overnight.
From the United States and the United Kingdom, the participation of 12 countries, including 30 scientists of China's ocean drilling activities, prepared in South India at the mid-ocean ridges called "Atlantis Ford" places in human history for the first time penetrated the Earth's crust and mantle boundary. Throughout the drilling program-3 cruises, this is the first time drilling.
Atlantis shoal is located about 700 meters beneath the sea. "Determination" after arrival, a huge underwater TV camera systems and pipe, communicated through the bottom of the boat and the water slowly into the Moon pool bottom. Under the lights, Ford mysteries are carefully uncovering Atlantis, through cable television screen broadcast live on on the boat.
This is a vibrant undersea world. Hordes of small fish are attracted to lights, across the TV screen like a flying snow; sometimes also saw a bottom-dwelling crab, seems to just be "an uninvited guest" woke up; there is even a passing small shark, its shadow reflected in the sea.
As the camera slowly moving Atlantis Ford white "beach" intertwined with the Black Rock topography at a glance. According to the United Kingdom kelisituofu·makelide Professor at Cardiff University, due to the sea currents are large, most of the sediment was washed away, the white "beach" is in fact limestone, and representation of the Earth's crust under the Black Rock is rock-gabbro.
After a nearly 10-hour search, underwater cameras, 17th finally found a suitable flat area. "Resolved" overnight in this expanded drilling drilling personnel return to the device installation. They will return to hole drill rods, lower part of the cone catheter and bases as well as a reamer sets together, slowly into the sea. After arriving at the harbour of drill pipe, drill started drilling. With the drill bit depth, return hole lower part of the cone catheter and reamer bit embedded drill.
The evening of 18th, after a whole day drilling catheter more than 10 meters long and reamer are all embedded drill, return hole cone base installed in the drill. Through the Moon pool, the workers will return hole sleeve the drill pipe with a funnel-shaped, making it down the drill pipe down to the bottom of the base. Reverse drill, reamer contraction becomes smaller in diameter, you can securely return hole taper.
After the installation is completed, the boat will pay back "bottom hole" drill, put on a special drill of the drill cores. 19th, core drill pipe into the drill holes. Scientists will drill number U1473A. For more than a month in the future, "determination" will have been in this hole in the drill core.
Rock is a product of certain geological processes, formation and stability in certain geological environments. Geo-environmental changes, rock will also change. In-depth study of the rock, you can spy on the development and evolution of the Earth "clues". Ocean drilling into the seabed like the "rock probe", direct access to valuable research specimens and scientific data. The flower said why popular MA times have changed
Scientists expect core drill U1473A hole, on a range of scientific problems, the rock below the Earth's crust is layered? How much of the lower crust mixed with mantle? Represent the mantle of the alteration of the Moho boundary? In the lower crust and mantle containing water is there life?
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