The geologists until 1970 could only theorize about the earth’s composition and crust. Digging of the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, the world's deepest man-made hole, led to unexpected discoveries.
Decades ago, the Russians drilled deeper than anyone has ever gone and the Kola Superdeep Borehole holds the world record for the deepest man-made hole on the planet. The hole was dug up to 12,262 meters, but they did not reach the mantle. However, the Soviets made some unexpected discoveries from the Kola Superdeep Borehole that are mentioned below.
Invention of new drill
For drilling miles into the ground, the engineers had to design a whole new drill. Thus, in 1969 the Soviets invented a rotary bit and the drill spun by pushing the mud down through a turbine at the drill head. The turbine made 80 revolutions per sixty seconds.
Fossils of microscopic plankton
One of the most intriguing discoveries from the Kola Superdeep Borehole involves the detection of fossils of microscopic plankton four miles underneath the earth’s surface. Generally, fossils can be found in silica and limestone deposits, but these “microfossils” were encased in organic compounds that are surprisingly intact, despite extreme temperatures and pressure of the surrounding rocks. These fossils were 6,700 meters below the surface of the earth.
Rock display at Zapolyarny
The drilling at Kola stopped in the early 1990s when the scientists were exposed to prohibitively high temperatures. It is still the deepest hole ever dug by humans on earth. The now-abandoned site can be visited but cannot be peered into the fathomless abyss and a hefty metal cap covers the hole. The Kola Core Repository in a town named Zapolyarny displays samples of rocks obtained from the hole during drilling operations.
Existence of water and gas
Another significant discovery includes the finding of hot mineralized water from everywhere along the drill path. It has been propounded by the scientists during the drilling at the Kola Superdeep Borehole, that the earth has gases. They unexpectedly found the presence of nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide from the microbes, all along the borehole.
Absence of Basalt
A startling discovery reports that there is no basalt underneath the continent’s granite. It was earlier suggested by seismic that at 9,000 meters below the earth’s surface, the granite would give way to basalt. The absence of basalt paved the way for a new theory that suggests the presence of metamorphosed granite instead.
Do you think this abandoned project site is the actual well to hell?
