By: Alyssa Wan

On August 8, scientists finally recovered the first long section (parallel to the geological plane) of rocks from deep under the earth at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, once again uncovering more information about theplanet. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the world’s longest mountain range and is mostly underwater.
Earth has four layers: the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. The mantle makes up the majority of the earth’s layers.

Scientists managed to drill a massive 1,268 meters below the Atlantic seafloor, which is more than 1,000 meters more than the previous deepest hole and extracted a large sample of rock, which could offer some big clues about Earth’s mantle.

Lead author Professor Johan Lissenberg from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Stated that their study is beginning to look at the composition of the mantle and its chemical makeup.

“When we recovered the rocks last year, it was a major achievement in the history of the Earth sciences, but, more than that, its value is in what the cores of mantle rocks could tell us about the makeup and evolution of our planet,” Lissenberg said.

Another scientist who was part of this expedition, Dr Ivan Savov, is a lecturer in geochemistry and volcanology at Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment.

“It was a privilege to be part of this unprecedented discovery with its tantalizing and quite unique initial results,” Savov said.