You may have heard about this project:
Jeff L. writes in WUWT Tips and Notes:
You have to see this version of climate insanity – using climate alarmism to justify drilling BILLION dollar well to the mantle. I am a geologist & I love the idea of drilling a well to the mantle, but selling it on the idea that it is some how related to climate change is COMPLETELY INSANE !!
Here’s the story, you have to read it to believe it:
http://www.iodp.org/why-does-scientific-ocean-drilling-matter-to-you
Why Does Scientific Ocean Drilling Matter To You?
Increasing population and use of resources and energy has made global environment and climate change one of the major challenges posed by the 21st century. Research on deep-sea drill cores tells a story of profound climate and environmental change of the past that helps us to better understand the nature, mechanisms and driving forces behind such changes. And therefore provides a context in which to monitor and understand the importance of ongoing changes as we see them unfold on annual to human time scale. Can the past history show how dramatic and rapid changes can be? Are there signs of imminent, major changes that can be observed? How well can we model past history of global change? Such knowledge is fundamental in order to predict how dramatic future change could be, and where it may take us in terms of changing climate zones, change of sea-level and the impact on marine and terrestrial life.
It also matters to society because many of Earth’s most dynamic processes such as violent earthquakes and volcanism takes place within the oceans. These events pose major, immediate hazards to a large number of people. Placing observatories in boreholes deep within the seabed can help us understand the cycle and frequency of earthquakes. From the drill cores scientists can glean information on the history and magnitude of seismic and volcanic events, and their impact on the environment.
Drill cores from deep within the crust below the oceans are also critical for understanding the overall dynamics and history of planet Earth. New ocean crust is constantly being formed as part of the plate tectonic cycle, and subsequently being pushed back in the Earth’s mantle along tectonic subduction zones overlain by the volcanic arcs thought to be the building place for the continental crust we live on and utilize for resources.
Ocean drilling also has discovered that microbial life extends kilometer-deep into the seabed and suggests the presence of a huge, largely unknown biomass that may offer opportunities ranging from scientific insights into the development and sustainability of life under extreme conditions to possible industrial applications of unknown genetic material.
Understanding the complex working of our planet, its interplay with life, and the potential changes to global climate and environment caused by human activity is simply no longer just an option to satisfy scientific curiosity: It has become a critical societal responsibility for sustainable development within the 21st century. This is why ocean drilling sciences matters to all of us.
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is a research program global in scope and participation, and the only of its kind.
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Matt says:
October 9, 2012 at 11:42 am
@David Ball,
“Sorry, you are out of luck. The bible might not metion your tax bill in particular, but it does mention taxes.
See Mark 12:17
You still have to pay your taxes.”
Caesar is dead.
Movie from my childhood: “Crack in the World” (1965).
Scientist drill for geothermal energy and the crack un-zips the mantle along the world’s fault lines. In the end they close the gap and a portion of the Earth flies off as a new Moon somehow without killing everyone. Makes as much sense as Al Gore….
The entire movie is up on Youtube:
Mark writes
“Wonder how the drilling platform will be kept from moving whilst the hole is drilled in such deep water.”
The vessel (the Chikyu* that would be used for the Mohole drilling) uses a dynamic positioning system, getting position from acoustic transponders placed on the seabed and GPS. The system directs power to the propellers and lateral thrusters to set orientation relative to waves/current/wind and maintain the vessel’s position over the hole.
http://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/Science/control.html
*The JOIDES Resolution, the other main platform in IODP also has a DP system.
@ur momisugly Jim G.
By the time of the New Testiment “Ceaser” is more title than name.
Mark 12:17 is the equivelent to saying “Render unto the President what is the President’s”
There is a reason why US currency is sometimes refered to as dead Presidents.
Go back a ways and get the full context.
Well, if they get their funding based on the Global Warming premis, good on em. At least they tried, and won. I think its an interesting exersize in its own right, and no doubt much will be learnt. (nothing to do with global warming mind you, lol).
I reckon we should all do stupid submissions, just to see just how rediculous it can get and still be accepted.
Power Grab said on October 9, 2012 at 10:24 am:
In a sense that is likely already true. There are postulated hotspots where the magma from volcanoes comes from mantle plumes, so this material from the mantle becomes new rock, specifically new igneous rock. So down there is the material of new rocks, while up here are the oldest rocks, so what is down there is younger than what’s up here.
If this hotspot hypothesis were proven true, then samples from the mantle could likely be obtained following a recent outflow from a volcano, from its crater, in Hawaii. While tricky, it will not cost a billion dollars, and I will guess it would prove less risky than this attempt at making essentially a “controlled volcano tube”.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t pursue tapping into the mantle someday. After we run through the several hundred years of stored fossil fuel energy, and the many thousands of years of obtainable fission nuclear energy, if the “limitless” fusion dream doesn’t pan out (cold or hot) then the heat in the mantle could keep humanity going for many more years. Maybe even long enough that by then civilization will have developed reliable and economical wind and solar energy.
Christopher Hanley says:
October 9, 2012 at 2:02 am
But it’s several million degrees down there (Al Gore Nobel Laureate says so), isn’t that going to melt the aparatus.
===================================================================
Did Algore OK this? If he did, I guess Al will do anything to prove warming is manmade.
Matt says:
October 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm
@ur momisugly Jim G.
By the time of the New Testiment “Ceaser” is more title than name.
Mark 12:17 is the equivelent to saying “Render unto the President what is the President’s”
There is a reason why US currency is sometimes refered to as dead Presidents.
Go back a ways and get the full context.
======================================================
The rest of the verse is the real point but I think we’re giving the ModSquad itchy snipper fingers.
COMPLETELY INSANE?
No. It’s completely funded.
Follow the money. Things will make more sense then.
Here’s the full text for “When the World Screamed”.
http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/ff3/wscream.htm
RoHa, thank you for sharing “When The World Screamed.” It is not the story I was thinking of (The one clear thing I remember from that story was the idea that a vast amount of ordinarily rather innocent gas — either nitrogen or carbon dioxide — was increasingly filling the earth’s atmosphere from the subsurface chamber.) but it *is* a story that I read a very long long time ago as a kid and had forgotten all about! Professor Challenger featured in several other tales as well if my memory serves me right!
– MJM
My big worry here is that if they succeed the earth will fly around the solar system going PHUURRRRRR and end up as a shrivelled soggy mess in deep space.
James Bull
If they drilled right on the rift of the mid ocean ridge, wouldn’t the asthenosphere thickness be at a minimum? Certainly thinner than the trenches?
If they make a nice big hole, they can make a geothermal power station of some note and gain billions more in investment, controlling the bore hole may prove a little problematic, not to mention dangerous. I do hope their ship is at least as unsinkable as the Titanic and flame proof as the heat source they are playing with could turn water into a plasma state and the depth of water rather irrelevant. This is a very brave venture into the unknown, I do hope the pinheads are all on board and not just the drill crews when all this is happening. Good luck.
Maybe they will discover Trenberth’s missing heat?
Matt says:
October 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm
@ur momisugly Jim G.
“By the time of the New Testiment “Ceaser” is more title than name.
Mark 12:17 is the equivelent to saying “Render unto the President what is the President’s”
There is a reason why US currency is sometimes refered to as dead Presidents.
Go back a ways and get the full context.”
All the Caesars are dead even the Russian Zars, which title was taken from the term Caesar as was Kaiser in Germany. All dead. We have no Caesar here, though some obviously have those ambitions. I understand your point but would rather believe that Jesus was making a political statement in the first part of his quote, not a moral one, not to mention, He did not say the taxes were fair or that they should be paid but said “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” due to the picture on the coin. Taxes in those days may have, at times, been paid in goats or sheep. No picture there, though the south end of a northbound goat may resemble some of our present day politicians.
Of course they will find that it isn’t really hot down at the bottom of their hole. Stands to reason – no CO2 down there to keep it warm.
“ ‘In some places under the ocean the mantle is actually exposed on the surface of the Earth.[8] There are also a few places on land where mantle rock has been pushed to the surface by tectonic activity, most notably the Tablelands region of Gros Morne National Park in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.’
So, why drill? Or at least, drill there.”
These exposed formations of what appears to be a full or nearly full sequence of ocean crust are known as “ophiolites.” Best known ones are in Newfoundland, Cyprus, and Oman, but also notable formations on Macquarie Island SE of Australia (unusual because it’s an “in place” exposure of mid-ocean ridge).
The problem is the upper mantle has not yet been sampled “in-situ.” The current understanding is based on seismic data, ophiolites, etc. but not actual sampling of the upper mantle rocks in place. That’s why IODP is seeking to drill.
They could save some money and watch this video, starring Scrat, our favourite pliocene squirrel.
imagine their shock and moment of truth: their’s abiotic oil down there!
You’re wrong, I read it, but don’t believe it.
;p
Drilling to the earth’s mantle in order to find information on climate change is completely ridiculous. This is because none of the anthropogenic or natural factors affecting the earth’s climate can be observed in the mantle. As none of the energy from either the sun or green house gases penetrate as deep enough to reach the earth’s mantle. Besides this even if the energy could be transmitted to the mantle it could not be measured because of the heat radiated out from the earth’s core. Also there would be no data to compare temperature or any findings with, so we would not be able to see any trends in the earth’s history.
Thus the ocean would be a much better and cheaper alternative in understanding climate change. As we have records on mean ocean temperatures for a long period so comparisons can be made and trends assessed. Also we already posses the instruments to measure sea temperature and people are already trained to use them. This saves money in building new equipment and teaching people how to operate it.