In the late 1950s, U.S. and Soviet scientists began drilling deep into the Earth’s crust. They wanted to break through the thin shell on the outside of the Earth, which is said to be about 30 miles, and get to the mantle. The competition started: Both wanted to be the country that had penetrated the earth’s crust the deepest.
1. The U.S. made the start
First, the U.S. took the lead with Project Mohole, drilling through the bottom of the Pacific Ocean near Guadalupe, Mexico. They reached an unfathomable depth of 600 feet. However, the project had to be abandoned after eight years due to lack of funding. The U.S. team never reached the mantle.
2. Then it was up to the Soviet
Now it was the Soviets’ turn: On May 24, 1970, researchers started drilling into the earth beneath the Pechengsky District, a remote region on Russia’s Kola Peninsula. They wanted to penetrate as far as possible into the earth’s crust. In doing so, they naturally wanted to be better than the Americans.
3. The Soviets wanted to outdo the USA
The competition was to provide an Earth science complement to the Space Race and the Soviets wanted to reach a depth of about 49,000 feet. Special equipment was used to drill the wells branching off from a central borehole. But as they gradually reached the depths of the earth, the U.S. itself made significant progress.
4. The “Bertha Rogers Hole”
In 1974, the Lone Star Production Company created the “Bertha Rogers Hole” while drilling for oil in the Washita country of western Oklahoma. It reached a depth of 441 feet (six miles). Oil was not found, but they had dug the deepest man-made hole. It remained that way for five years.
5. A new record
On June 6, 1979, one of the Kola wells got the title of the deepest man-made Hole. By 1983, the nine-inch-wide hole reached 39,000 feet deep. With this milestone, the team initially paused for 12 months. Visitors were able to view the hole. When they resumed work, they soon encountered some complications and needed to stop.
6. It went even deeper
After complications, however, the explorers abandoned the well and started again. They started from a depth of 23,000 feet. By 1989, they had reached a record depth of 40,230 feet – 7.5 miles. The team was confident that the hole would top an incredible 44,000 feet by the end of 1990.
7. An unexpected discovery
They reached the target of 49,000 feet back in 1993 and encountered something amazing. The researchers knew what the temperature would be in the first 10,000 feet of depth. But after that, they found that the temperature rose much faster. By the time they reached their destination, the hole had heated up by 180 °C – 80 °C hotter than expected.
8. The hole had to be abandoned
The team also discovered that the rock at these depths had a much lower density, which meant that it reacted with temperature in unpredictable ways. Since the equipment would not survive in these conditions, the project had to be abandoned. But also this hole allowed the researchers to discover incredible things.
9. Amazing discoveries
Before the scientists abandoned the hole, now called the Kola Superdeep Borehole, they made some incredible discoveries in it. At about four miles down, they discovered tiny fossils of marine plants. They had been buried under the miles of extremely well-preserved. The rock, in turn, is said to be over two billion years old.
10. Granite instead of basalt
Moreover, at the deepest point of the borehole, the researchers found only granite. Previously, after measuring seismic waves, it was thought that the rock beneath our feet shifts from granite to basalt at about two to four miles below the surface. So it was concluded that metamorphic differences in the rock caused changes in the seismic waves, not a shift to basalt.
11. The deepest point on earth
In 1995, the well was shut down and the Kola Superdeep Borehole was sealed. The site itself is now considered environmentally hazardous, but people can visit some remains in the town of Zapolyarny. For it is incredible: to this day, the cave is the deepest point on earth ever created by man.
12. Facination depth
But the race to the center of the earth goes on and on. The International Ocean Discovery Program continues to go deep beneath the ocean floor. And even in the depths of the sea, much remains undiscovered. So there are always expeditions that go further and further into the depths of the ocean.
13. An incredible expedition
One day a crew in a two-man submersible wanted to go underwater in the cold waters of Antarctica near the South Pole. Their firm goal: to go deeper than any other expedition in human history ever had. In the depths, they discovered something that no one had ever seen before.
14. Preparation is everything
In order to do this swap, two years of research was done for the perfect time and place. This was important because we still don’t know very much about the ocean floor. The average depth of the ocean is equivalent to just over 120,000 feet – about 2 miles.
15. The perfect place
The scientists took “Iceberg Alley” as a suitable location. The reason was: A channel is formed here that is very close to one of the northernmost points of the Arctic. This stretch of sea is surrounded by shifting ice boulders of varying sizes. Thus, it was a big challenge to bring the boat down.
16. An incredible world
The trip through the channel was very difficult. But a major concern was that the crew’s submarines would not be able to withstand the stresses of the deep. But those concerns didn’t last long. Because fascination quickly won out over the breathtaking ecosystem of strange creatures they encountered in the deep.
17. Unusually thick marine snow
The depths of Antarctica are home to countless strange sea creatures. These are surrounded by a matter known as marine snow. According to Dr. Jon Copely of the University of Southampton, this matter is thicker than anywhere else in the world’s oceans. At least from what he has seen so far.
18. Important food sources of the deep sea
Marine snow is basically organic material that falls to the ocean floor. It’s an important food source because it transports nutrients and energy down from the surface. Another important food source is krill feces. The excrement of the tiny crustaceans (krill), turns the seafloor into a muddy and nutritious habitat.
19. The Antarctic Sun Star
Here you can see the Antarctic Sun Star, a really strange creature. It is also called the “Death Star”. It can grow larger than a dinner plate and have up to 50 arms. Its arms are covered with little pincers that snap shut at every touch. It feeds mainly on krill.
20. Journey into the past
Only a few fish are able to live down here. This place is like windows to the past. Because it shows what life was like before humans. According to Dr. Copley, animals without backbones dominate here, and they dominate as predators. This is what the oceans looked like more than 250 million years ago.
21. The Ice Dragonfish
The ice dragonfish (Cyrodraco antarcticus) is another strange creature that lives here. This fish has adapted to Antarctic waters in incredible ways. Its blood contains proteins that act like an antifreeze. The blood is clear, unlike human blood, because they don’t need hemoglobin, which otherwise transports oxygen through the body.
22. A big meaning
But the expedition was not only about finding strange creatures in the arctic depths. According to Dr. Copley, this expedition was about observing the life of deep-sea Antarctic animals. This allows to understand them much better than studying captive specimens. And it shows how our lives are connected to this extraordinary environment.
23. Mysterious depth
The oceans still hold many secrets, and Dr. Copley hopes that this expedition will show that there is no longer an inaccessible part of this planet. There is something very profound about going to a place that is so hard to reach. Such research strengthens the feeling of being involved in the responsibility for the future.
