‘The hole that should not exist’: A rogue drill near Atlantis just cracked open Earth’s biggest mystery

Produced by: Manoj Kumar

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Mantle Breach

For the first time, scientists have pierced over a kilometer into the Earth’s mantle, pulling up rocks from beneath the crust that hold secrets billions of years old.

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Deeper Than Ever

What started as a 200-meter drill plan turned into a record-breaking 1,268-meter core—tripling past efforts and shocking geologists aboard the JOIDES Resolution.

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Green Marble Clues

The core’s mantle rocks weren’t dull—they shimmered green, transformed by seawater through a process called serpentinization, offering chemical breadcrumbs to Earth’s deep past.

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Lost City Below

The drilling site, near the mystical Lost City hydrothermal field, may reveal how early life began—thanks to gases like hydrogen and methane oozing from altered mantle rocks.

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Mid-Ocean Secrets

Beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge lies a tectonic archive—harzburgite and gabbro layers that tell the story of Earth’s fiery birth and its slow, churning evolution.

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Faster Than Science Expected

The drill cut through mantle rock three times faster than predicted, defying assumptions and suggesting the path to Earth’s interior may not be as blocked as once thought.

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The Moho Barrier

Scientists hoped to punch through the Moho—the crust-mantle boundary—but fell short. Yet, they came closer than almost anyone in history to reaching pristine mantle rock.

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Science Hits Budget Wall

Just as momentum built, funding ran out. With the NSF pulling support, the mission ended early—leaving future mantle drilling hanging in uncertainty.

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What Lies Beneath

These mantle rocks could unlock clues to plate tectonics, ocean crust formation, and even alien life origins—but only if future missions keep digging.

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