Will China's Mengxiang become the first ship to reach Earth’s mantle?

China has unveiled its first ocean drilling vessel. The Mengxiang, which means ‘dream’, in Chinese has been given a mammoth task – drilling through the Earth’s crust and reaching its mantle. But what do we know about the Mengxiang? And why is this significant? Let’s take a closer look: What we know about the Mengxiang As per SCMP, the vessel was constructed by the China Geological Survey as well as 150 research institutes and companies. It can hold around 33,000 tonnes of cargo. It is 590 feet and 32.8 metres wide. It can travel around 15,000 nautical miles (27,800km) and operate for three months after every port of call. The Mengxiang is built to survive even the strongest tropical cyclones – allowing it to operate anywhere around the world.

Its drilling power is top of the line – it can reach 11,000 metres (10.94 kilometres) below the sea’s surface.

For comparison, the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the world’s oceans, has been measured at 11,034 meters. As per CTGN, the ship will also host the world’s biggest and most complete laboratory. It will thus contribute to exploring how marine energy resources, national energy security and maritime power construction can be used. Its digital twin system will allow intelligent collaboration in scientific experiments and the monitoring of the drilling operation. The outlet quoted  Zhang Haibin, chief designer of the Mengxiang, as saying, “It is because of its design highlights, such as small tonnage, multiple functions and modularity, that the ship is able to meet the docking requirements of most wharves worldwide. Its construction and operation costs are over 40 percent lower than those of its kind.” Why this is significant First, let’s take a brief look at the Earth’s mantle. The Earth comprises of its core, mantle, and crust The mantle lies between Earth’s innermost and outermost layers. The crust is where we humans live – along with all other life. It is merely 15,000 metres thick. The mantle, by contrast, comprises a whopping 2,900 kilometers.

It consists of around 84 per cent of the Earth’s volume, as per National Geographic.

It also accounts for around 75 per cent of the Earth’s land mass. The mantle itself is divided into the upper mantle, the transition zone, the lower mantle, and D double-prime. [caption id=“attachment_13557312” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Earth’s internal structure. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] As per National Geographic, Earth’s mantle is yet to be explored. Even our most sophisticated drills have not penetrated the Earth beyond its crust. As per BNN Breaking, exploration of the mantle could yield unparalleled insights into the workings of plate tectonics. It could also allow humans to monitor what sorts of life forms – if any – could exist under such harsh conditions. Li Chun-feng, a marine geologist at the Department of Marine Sciences at Zhejiang University in eastern China, told SCMP, “Rock samples from ultra-deep boreholes have become crucial for understanding plate tectonics, oceanic crust evolution, ancient ocean climates and seabed resources.” “The mantle is composed of peridotite, which can produce methane and hydrogen through microscopic reactions with water, providing energy for life forms. The deep underground ecosystem is a fascinating field to explore. Only by reaching the mantle can we truly understand these rock and hydrothermal conditions,” Li added.

But it’s not science alone that is driving China to explore the mantle.

As per Interesting Engineering, the ship is set to explore the possibility of extracting ‘flammable ice.’ These are ice-like compounds of water molecules containing trapped natural gas – mainly methane. However, this is not considered environmentally-friendly source of energy. Beijing estimates that it has around 80 billion tonnes of potentially flammable ice in its waters. But others warn that the ship faces a daunting task. Wan Buyan, a professor at Hunan University of Science and Technology, told SCMP, “There’s a gap between theoretical design depth and practical operations, high temperature and pressure at the seabed pose difficulties for drilling beneath 7,000 metres. Wan, who led the development of China’s first deep-sea drill equipment and is an expert in seabed engineering, added, “For resource exploration, we place drills on the seabed, assisted by a few thousand-tonne ships at a daily cost below $30,000. Ocean drilling, operated from ships weighing tens of thousands of tonnes, could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars daily.”

This has also raised the risk of potential geopolitical conflict.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of commercial shipping annually, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Philippines refers to the part of South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippines Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling the United States supports but Beijing rejects. Earlier in December Manila and Beijing traded accusations over a collision of their vessels in the South China Sea, with the latter saying the incidents were “entirely caused” by the Philippines. Following the incidents, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said a “paradigm shift” was needed in how his country deals with the South China issue because diplomatic efforts with China were headed “in a poor direction”. Tensions between the Philippines and China have grown under Marcos, who has increasingly complained about China’s “aggressive” behaviour, while he sought closer ties with the United States, Manila’s treaty ally. With inputs from agencies