Crucial Scientific Issues in Earth Science Revealed Only by Mantle Drilling: Understanding the Current State of the Oceanic Plates of a Life-bearing Planet

Abstract

In the 1950s, the aim of the original mantle drilling projects was to obtain oceanic mantle samples in order to address the unanswered question of what constitutes the Earth's mantle. However, in the 21st century, it is widely accepted that the uppermost mantle is mainly com posed of peridotite. Now, the challenge of mantle drilling is to understand crucial unsolved issues of earth science. Today's Earth is different from other planets due to the existence of life and plate tectonics. It is emphasized that mantle drilling is the only way to obtain the oceanic crust