据英国《每日邮报》报道，钻探工人日前在美国夏威
夷大岛钻孔时，无意中发现一个岩浆房(magma chamber)，这是首次发现地下岩浆房。研究
人员称这不啻于挖到了“科学金矿”。
在此之前，科学家从未在其自然栖息地发现岩浆——这种熔化的岩石是行星演变过程
中最重要成分。在地下深处偶然发现岩浆让科学家获得了研究这种重要物质的前所未有的
机遇。美国约翰斯·霍普金斯大学教授布鲁斯·马什(Bruce Marsh)说：“作为科学家，我
们在无数次研究中对岩浆的性质和行为作出过各种猜测。在此之前，我们从未发现过‘真
材实料’，或对其物理特性进行任何研究。”
火山喷发后，岩浆会从地底喷涌而出。在此之前，岩浆在地下的温度能达到1000多摄
氏度。马什教授说：“一旦岩浆喷发，它开始会以超乎寻常的速度冷却下来，丧失里面包
含的任何气体，所以，它确实是不同寻常。之前，我们从未在其自然栖息地看见过真正的
岩浆。它不会流到别的地方，也就是说，它好像被关在笼子里。”
岩浆房还包含一种极不寻常的熔岩类型——英安岩。英安岩在夏威夷地质状况中并不
常见。专家认为，英安岩其实形成于正在蒸馏的玄武岩。玄武岩是构成海底的最主要物质
。马什教授的绰号是“岩浆PI”(Magma PI)，他将整个科学生涯都用于研究岩浆对地质构
造的影响。岩浆从地球心脏地带喷涌到地面，在我们赖以生存的地球表面形成大陆、山川
、流域等地质特征。
马什教授与美国内华达州的奥马特技术公司(Ormat Technologies)顾问威廉姆·特普
劳合作完成了这项研究。他们16日在旧金山召开的2008年美国地球物理学联合会大会上宣
布了这一重大发现。奥马特技术公司2005年10月在其帕纳地热发电站钻探作业期间发现了
岩浆。
工人在钻一个注入井时，在下面大约1.5英里处发现了岩浆房。岩浆从钻孔向上喷涌约
20英尺的高度，一待冷却便像玻璃一样凝固。奥马特技术公司的工人们又多次重复钻探这
一地区，每次结果都相同。奥马特技术公司已在发现岩浆房地方的附近安装了一个永久性
地and震与地面监控网络，向帕纳地热发电站及周围社区提供有关火山活动的早期预警。(孝文
）
附每日邮报原文
Drillers strike scientific gold after breaking into magma chamber by accident
A crew drilling on the Big Island of Hawaii has struck scientific gold after
accidentally breaking into a molten lava chamber underground for the first
time.
Magma - the molten rock that is the central ingredient in the evolution of
planets, has never been found in its natural habitat before now.
The chance discovery far beneath the Earth s surface gives scientists an
unprecedented opportunity to study the important substance.
Kilauea, the world s most active volcano, spurts lava. Scientists are now able
to study the molten rock when it is still magma underground on Hawaii
As scientists, we ve hypothesized about the nature and behavior of magma in
literally countless studies, but before now the real thing has never been
found or been physically investigated, Professor Bruce Marsh from The Johns
Hopkins University said.
Magma reaches temperatures of more than 1,000C underground before it is
ejected from the earth in volcanoes in lava spouts.
Once magma erupts, it begins cooling unusually quickly and it loses any gases
that it may contain, so it really is a different animal, Professor Marsh
said.
We ve never seen, until now, the real animal in its natural habitat. And it s
not going anywhere: it s caged, so to speak.
Lava flows from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. Drillers discovered a magma chamber
underground by accident on the Big Island
The chamber also contains a highly unusual type called dacite , which is not
common in the geology of Hawaii. It is believed to be made by, in effect,
distilling basalt, the material which makes up the floor of the ocean.
Professor Bruce Marsh has spent his career studying magma
Professor Marsh, nicknamed the Magma PI, has spent his career investigating
the processes by which magma is forced from the bowels of the planet to the
surface and creates the geologic features - continents, mountains, valleys -
among which we live.
He is collaborating on the find with William Teplow, a consultant to Nevada-
based Ormat Technologies. They announced the discovery yesterday at the 2008
meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
The company discovered the magma during drilling operations at its Puna
Geothermal Venture power plant in October 2005.
They hit a chamber of the magma about a mile and a half down while drilling an
injection well. The substance quickly rose about 20 feet up into the drill
hole before becoming glasslike as it cooled. Ormat workers redrilled the area
several times, with the same result.
The company has installed a permanent seismic and ground monitoring network to
provide early warning of any impending volcanic activity for the power plant
and surrounding community.
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