According to Brinkwire, thanks to an ambitious new project to drill a massive 1.2km tunnel in the molten rock at the heart of the Krafla volcano in northeastern Iceland, we may be able to reach the center for the first time. center of the Earth.
Drilling a ‘tunnel to hell’ or, rather, drilling deep into an active volcano to build a volcano lab is seen as an ambitious and daring project. Photo IT
The researchers hope this project can help them for the first time be able to observe molten rock at a temperature of 1,300 degrees Celsius deep underground.
They also claim that, through this $100 million project, they could find new sources of energy and even develop an early warning system for volcanic eruptions around the world. The project is expected to begin implementation in 2024.
However, scientists have warned the daring project could lead to a massive eruption.
Supporters of the project believe that on the one hand, the project has the potential to lead to huge energy discoveries – but it can be risky, as a slight mistake in the drilling process can also inadvertently trigger a terrifying volcanic eruption.
“People would certainly be concerned about an eruption,” said John Eichelberger, one of the project’s founders. But a total of dozens of boreholes have collided with the magma in three different parts of the world. And nothing bad happened.”
For example, in 2009, an energy company accidentally drilled into a shallow magma region. Despite the fact that the drill was damaged, no eruption occurred and no one was injured.
