Researchers drilled the deepest sample of rock from the Earth’s crust, penetrating 0.7 kilometers (1.2 kilometers) into the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the ocean floor extends.
In this area, which has many hydrothermal vents, interactions between sedimentary rocks and seawater create chemicals that are essential to life. Previous attempts to drill into sedimentary rocks brought up from the deep sea had only reached 659 feet (201 meters) – not deep enough to look for organisms such as bacteria that love heat that can stay away, said. Gordon Southamgeomicrobiologist at the University of Queensland in Australia and co-author of a new study that describes the original model.
“Every time the crew drilled another deep core, the microbiology team collected samples to culture bacteria to determine the limits of life in this deep-sea ecosystem,” Southam wrote in an email. in Live Science. “Our main goal is to improve our understanding of the origin of life and to explain the potential for life beyond Earth.”
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The rock core could also answer questions about the movement of the mantle, he said Johan Lissenberggeochemist at Cardiff University UK and first author of the study, published today (Aug. 8) in the journal Science. “We know from oceanic volcanic rocks that the mantle has many different ‘flavors,'” Lissenberg told Live Science. These “flavors” are different rock formations from the movement of tectonic plates inside the Earth.
With a new mantle sample, “we can try to see what textures we have and how different they are,” Lissenberg said, “and reconstruct how different layers of the mantle above are melted, then moved to the top.”
So far, the team has found that instead of moving upward, the melt appears to move in an erratic, diagonal, upward direction, Lissenberg said.
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The core was drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program in 2023. Researchers aboard the JOIDES Resolution research vessel drilled into the Atlantic Massif, part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the ocean divides ‘ and beautiful rocks went up. The excavation site was located near the “Lost City,” a hydrothermal vent with beehives and a tower that releases methane and hydrogen into the ocean. Many organisms live on these molecules, supporting communities of small invertebrates such as snails and tubeworms.
Mantle rock is brittle and tends to collapse, breaking the drill bits, Lissenberg said, but the team was lucky.
“For some reason, the beautiful rocks in our area drilled like a dream,” he said. “It was amazing for them.”
The team began to pull out the parts that are still 5 meters from the hole. Overall, they achieved a continuous report of more than 70% of the original 0.7-mile.
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“We have collected more samples than we expected because we have used many of our collection tools during the trip,” co-author of the study. William Brazeltona microbiologist at the University of Utah, wrote in a statement posted to Live Science. The microbiology team was breaking rocks with sledgehammers about 24 hours a day for the two-month excavation project, he added.
“The almost continuous recovery up to 1.2 km provides a good opportunity to document the relationships between biological diversity, abundance and depth activity and temperature, including temperature approaching the end of life,” Brazelton said.
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