Chikyu, a new Japanese deep sea drilling vessel has created a new world record by drilling more than 2,111 meters below the seafloor in order to collect rock samples.
Chikyu is currently located off Shimokita Peninsula of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is a part of the Deep Coalbed Biosphere expedition, which is aimed at collecting high quality coal samples that stored deep below the ocean floor.
The researchers believe that the samples collected from deep below the ocean bed will allow them to increase understanding of life associated with hydrocarbon system deep beneath the ocean. The scientists will be able to study nature of life and Earth through the high quality samples.
Fumio Inagaki, co-chief scientist for the expedition said, “We have just opened a window to the new era of scientific ocean drilling. The extended record is just a beginning for the Chikyu. This scientific vessel has tremendous potentials to explore very deep realms that humans have never studied before.”
The vessel is capable of drilling much deeper, to about 10,000 meters below sea level, according to the team. It can reach to Earth's mantle, the plate boundary seisomogenic zones and the deep biosphere for gathering samples.
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