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. 作者: zjdw 时间: 2015-4-16 23:16
