Drilling For Magma

Makarand writes "In an effort to better understand volcanic eruption patterns researchers in Japan are planning undertake the world's first volcano drilling experiment to get samples of magma according to this Japan Times online article. They plan to drill 1700 meters deep to penetrate a volcanic vent. The drilling operation will use muddy water as a coolant which will also help prevent volcanic gas and other substances from spewing out. They will start in late January and are expected to extract a sample about 200 meters long and 15 cm in diameter by summer. Studying such samples is expected to reveal secrets not possible with studies conducted from above ground and mere observation of rocks around the volcanic vent."

Comments

The Core

[GuyMannDude]

I just pray they'll be able to restart the core spinning. Man, those superstorms really look dangerous!

GMD

Darwin Award

[MegaHamsterX]

God, this sounds like a candidate for a Darwin award, isn't magma pressurized, isn't this why it shoots out of volcanos with force??

Re:Darwin Award

[MrIcee]

Since I live on an active volcano in Hawaii, I'll add my 2 cents to this (especially since we spend much timie playing in the lava fields, cooking chicken in lava, etc).

When they dropped the geothermal wells here on the big island almost all of the attempts were met with destroyed drilling rigs - mainly due to excessive heat.

It doesn't make sense that they're going to actually drill into the 2000 degree stuff, unless they have some really really really temperature proof drill bits.

However, it is true that just because the lava is 2000+ degrees (F) that it will not *instantly* melt the cold rock it touches. We can (with special kevlar/spun glass gloves) actually pick up liquid flow - it picks up like taffy and will lift off the cold ground. However, lava in a tube, where it is constantly flowing, does eventually melt the surrounding rock - and can be a cause of lava tubes widening once they're created - but that requries constant contact to liquid magma over time.

Re:Darwin Award

[Disoculated]

Now that's a cruel thing to say in an open forum where any nitwit can read it. Are you a field scout for the Darwin Awards?

Re:Darwin Award

[Psion]

Nah, he's just trying to weed out the nitwits.

Re:Darwin Award

[hodgepoj]

It appears that some of you are confusing temperature with heat. A substance can have a very high temperature but not be able to melt shit unless it also contains enough heat.

All substances have a property called specific heat capacity. This is the amount of heat input required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of the substance by one degree. Metals have a fairly low value of specific heat capacity -- water has an unusually high value.

The temperature of the sun's corona, for example, is over one million degrees but you could probably stick your hand in it without getting burned. It is such a low density plasma that it simply doesn't contain much heat.

Magma's temperature is around 700 - 1000 degrees C. As I wrote in a previous message, there are plenty of elements and inorganic compounds that have higher melting points.

When the magma is exposed to the atmosphere (by the way, it is called lava when it reaches the surface), its temperature drops because it transfers a lot of its heat to the air and anything else nearby.

The bottom line is, the plan to drill into a magma vent is not a big deal, not difficult to do, and not threatening to life on Earth.

Stating the obvious

[flikx]

Could this be used for evil world domination purposes??

muddy water coolant?

[PD]

I knew singin' the blues was cool, but damn, I never realized just how cool.

Damn, there goes another joke.

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

At a previous job, I wrote code to clean up data entry problems in oil well data. If someone put an extra digit into the Total Depth field, those were flagged as Magma wells. (it's only funny if there is no such thing, you see)
On the other hand, it's nice to look at this story and realize my code would simply call this a 170m well and move on its merry way.

is it just me...

[random735]

or does this sound like the beginning of a bad scifi movie that ends with large, rampaging monsters destroying Tokyo?

Re:is it just me...

[RedWolves2]

Damn it you stole my comment I was about to write.

Give it back.

Re:is it just me...

[sckeener]

Yeah, I had images of Don't poke the bear!

Be careful not

[CounterZer0]

To awaken Godzilla!

As you well know,

[Hubert_Shrump]

Hard rock kept breaking the bits.

Thank you!

Re:can anyone explain?

[some guy I know]

Not everything in the sections gets to the front page.
All turning Science on does is present the sidebar in the right-hand column, which will point you to recent science articles.
You can also click on the Science link in the left-hand column (Under "Sections"), which will take you to a page formatted like the front page (with article summaries), but which contains only science articles.

If you puncture the earth's crust...

[Omkar]

all the gravity will fall out!

Drilling mud

[Tideflats]

The journalist evidently thought drilling mud (which he seems to have understood was "muddy water") is a novelty. It is not. It is a slurry of various components in various recipes, designed to cool and lubricate the bit and hold the hole open, to which end it is usually designed to have a high specific gravity. It is pumped down the hollow drill stem, and through the doughnut-shaped bit, to flow up the outside of the stem (lubricating it, as well) to the surface, and in to a mud tank, from which it is recycled. The drill cuttings it carries may be examined and saved as part of the drill-hole record.