Kola Superdeep Borehole: The Deepest Man-Made Hole Reaching The Earth Crust

First Posted: Jul 25, 2016 06:45 AM EDT
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The Kola Superdeep Borehole, the deepest hole ever drilled by man, lies in Murmansk, Russia. The man-made hole was drilled up to 12 kilometers down towards the Earth's crust.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole provided scientific studies about the Earth's crust. It was because of the Kola Superdeep Borehole that scientists were able to physically study the Earth. However, the Kola Superdeep Borehole does not only provide avenue for scientific research, but has proven that a hard task was achievable.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole allowed scientists to make a breakthrough discovery of plankton as it has detected microscopic plankton fossils in rocks over 2 billion years old, Sciencealert reported. The discovery found in the Kola Superdeep Borehole was found four miles below the surface, according to Bryan Nelson who reported on the Kola Superdeep Borehole.

The microfossils found in the Kola Superdeep Borehole represented 24 ancient species encased in organic compounds. The fossils found in the Kola Superdeep Borehole survived extreme conditions that happened far into the Earth's center.

While Kola Superdeep Borehole is a man made hole that was initially speculated as  hole made from a failed oil well, studies have also found out that it is a result of the Cold War, Atlas Obscura reported.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole was locked in a technological arms race between the United States and USSR. It resulted in a race on who could drill the farthest towards the center of the Earth.

Kola Superdeep Borehole researchers in Russia began drilling, while US was drilling near the Mexican Pacific coast. The Kola Superdeep Borehole that lies in the Kola Peninsula was almost stopped after the US successfully drilled offshore.

While the Kola Superdeep Borehole drilling project was halted in 1994, the reason was then due to the temperatures that surround the Kola Superdeep Borehole. Back then, it increased from 180 degrees celsius to 180 degrees celsius. This caused the drills used for the Kola Superdeep Borehole to malfunction.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole was officially terminated on 2005. The Kola Superdeep Borehole was left with rusted metal caps that now serve as evidence that the Kola Superdeep Borehole exist.

Kola Superdeep Borehole was drilled on 1970 until 1994. It is now known as the deepest man made drilled hole.

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