By Zoya Saleem
June 1, 2023
Chinese scientists have begun excavating a 10,000-meter (32,808-foot) hole into the planet’s crust as the world’s second-largest economy explores new frontiers above and below the planet’s surface.
The nation’s oil-rich Xinjiang province saw the start of drilling on Tuesday for what is anticipated to be China’s deepest ever borehole, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China launched its first civilian astronaut into space that morning from the Gobi Desert.
Before reaching the cretaceous system, which contains rock that is roughly 145 million years old, the narrow shaft will pass through more than 10 continental strata, or layers of rock.
History of drilling holes
The crew will go deeply into the planet’s crust and pierce more than 10 continental strata in order to reconstruct the history of the continents, including the evolution of landscapes, climate change, and the dispersal of life. The continental strata, or rock layers, are an important source for understanding Earth history.
They are useful for locating and documenting historical events like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and climate change. They can also be used to look for and study ancient living things.
Image Source: IFL science
The drill, which has a design depth of about 11,000 meters, will pound its way through the treacherous Tarim Basin in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
President Xi Jinping urged for more rapid progress in deep Earth exploration in a lecture to some of the nation’s top scientists in 2021. Such research can help by discovering mineral and energy resources as well as evaluating the risks of natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The deepest man-made hole on Earth is the Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole, which took 20 years to drill to a depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 ft).
