Chikyu Hakken
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese scientific drilling
ship built for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
(IODP). The vessel is designed to ultimately drill
seven kilometres beneath the seabed, where the Earth's crust is much thinner, and into the Earth's mantle
, deeper than any other hole drilled in the ocean thus far.
While the planned depth of the hole is significantly less than the Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole
(which has already reached 12 km depth on land), the scientific results are expected to be much more interesting since the regions targeted by Chikyū include some of the most seismically-active regions of the world. Other deep holes have been drilled by the drill ship JOIDES Resolution
during the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the Ocean Drilling Program.
, Earth Simulator
supercomputer
and other marine scientific research projects. CDEX is responsible for the services to support activities including on-board staffing, data management for core samples and logging; implements engineering site surveys; and conducts engineering developments. CDEX contracts with the Mantle Quest Japan Company for the navigation of the ship.
The Chikyū Hakken program is collaborated with foreign scientists from the United States
, a consortium consisting of several European countries, Canada, China
and South Korea
.
and launched on January 18, 2002 in Nagasaki, Nagasaki. The ship was outfitted by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
and delivered to the JAMSTEC on July 29, 2005.
The hull of the ship is 210 metres long, 38 metres in width, 16.2 metres high, and has an approximate gross tonnage of about 57,087 tons. The ship has a draft of 9.2 metres and a maximum cruising speed of 12 knots. The amidships derrick is 70 m high, and the top drive
has a lifting capacity of 1,250 tons. Its complement of 150 crew are divided between 100 operators and 50 science personnel, with at seas crew changes handled by helicopter transfer.
Key innovations include a GPS system and six adjustable computer controlled azimuth thruster
s (3.8 metres in diameter) that enable precise positioning to maintain a stable platform during deep water drilling. The maximum drilling water depth for riser drilling is 2,500 metres and can support a drill string up to 10,000 metres long.
The ship was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
on March 11, 2011. The ship was moored 300 m off the coast of Hachinohe, Aomori
, but drifted by the tsunami and collided with a pier of the Hachinohe port. One of the six stabilizers
was damaged and 1.5 meter hole was bored at the bottom. Local preliminary school children who visited the ship at the earthquake spent one night in the ship and were rescued by Japan Self-Defense Forces
helicopters next day. The ship was repaired at a dock in Shingū, Wakayama
and back to service in June 2011.
Scientific drilling
Scientific drilling is a way to probe down into the Earth, allowing scientists and students to obtain samples of sediments, crust, and upper mantle. In addition to rock samples, drilling technology allows humans to obtain samples of connate fluids and of the subsurface biosphere, mostly microbial...
ship built for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is an international marine research program. The program uses heavy drilling equipment mounted aboard ships to monitor and sample sub-seafloor environments...
(IODP). The vessel is designed to ultimately drill
Well drilling
Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, natural gas, or petroleum...
seven kilometres beneath the seabed, where the Earth's crust is much thinner, and into the Earth's mantle
Mantle (geology)
The mantle is a part of a terrestrial planet or other rocky body large enough to have differentiation by density. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core....
, deeper than any other hole drilled in the ocean thus far.
While the planned depth of the hole is significantly less than the Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole
Kola Superdeep Borehole
The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the result of a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union in Kola Peninsula. The project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth's crust. Drilling began on 24 May 1970 using the Uralmash-4E, and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig. A...
(which has already reached 12 km depth on land), the scientific results are expected to be much more interesting since the regions targeted by Chikyū include some of the most seismically-active regions of the world. Other deep holes have been drilled by the drill ship JOIDES Resolution
JOIDES Resolution
thumb|right|295px|Drillship JOIDES Resolution in 1988JOIDES Resolution is a scientific drilling ship once used by the Ocean Drilling Program, then by its successor, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. It is the successor of the Glomar Challenger.The ship was launched as Sedco/BP 471, an oil...
during the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the Ocean Drilling Program.
Operation
The Japanese part of the IODP program was called , Japanese for "Earth Discovery". Chikyu is operated by the Centre for Deep Earth Research (CDEX), a subdivision of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). JAMSTEC also operates the DSV ShinkaiDSV Shinkai
The Shinkai 6500 is a manned research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 6,500 m. It was completed in 1990 and has the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in the world. The only manned expedition to have gone deeper was the dive of the Trieste bathyscaphe in 1960. However,...
, Earth Simulator
Earth Simulator
The Earth Simulator , developed by the Japanese government's initiative "Earth Simulator Project", was a highly parallel vector supercomputer system for running global climate models to evaluate the effects of global warming and problems in solid earth geophysics...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
and other marine scientific research projects. CDEX is responsible for the services to support activities including on-board staffing, data management for core samples and logging; implements engineering site surveys; and conducts engineering developments. CDEX contracts with the Mantle Quest Japan Company for the navigation of the ship.
The Chikyū Hakken program is collaborated with foreign scientists from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a consortium consisting of several European countries, Canada, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
Design
D/V Chikyu was built by the Mitsui Engineering & ShipbuildingMitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding
is a Japanese company. It is listed on the Nikkei 225.Established in 1917 as the Shipbuilding Division of Mitsui & Co. with the first shipyard at Tamano City...
and launched on January 18, 2002 in Nagasaki, Nagasaki. The ship was outfitted by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
and delivered to the JAMSTEC on July 29, 2005.
The hull of the ship is 210 metres long, 38 metres in width, 16.2 metres high, and has an approximate gross tonnage of about 57,087 tons. The ship has a draft of 9.2 metres and a maximum cruising speed of 12 knots. The amidships derrick is 70 m high, and the top drive
Top drive
A top drive is a mechanical device on a drilling rig that provides clockwise rotational force to the drill string to facilitate the process of drilling a borehole. It is an alternative to rotary table...
has a lifting capacity of 1,250 tons. Its complement of 150 crew are divided between 100 operators and 50 science personnel, with at seas crew changes handled by helicopter transfer.
Key innovations include a GPS system and six adjustable computer controlled azimuth thruster
Azimuth thruster
An azimuth thruster is a configuration of ship propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary...
s (3.8 metres in diameter) that enable precise positioning to maintain a stable platform during deep water drilling. The maximum drilling water depth for riser drilling is 2,500 metres and can support a drill string up to 10,000 metres long.
History
On November 16, 2007 the project drilled into four of the six sites as planned, reaching 1,400 metres at the site where they plan to drill 6 kilometres. The first stage of four NanTroSEIZE Stages was completed in February 2008. The whole project is envisioned to be completed by 2012The ship was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
on March 11, 2011. The ship was moored 300 m off the coast of Hachinohe, Aomori
Hachinohe, Aomori
- Neighbouring municipalities :Aomori Prefecture*Sannohe District**Hashikami**Gonohe**Nanbu*Kamikita District**OiraseIwate Prefecture*Karumai-History:...
, but drifted by the tsunami and collided with a pier of the Hachinohe port. One of the six stabilizers
Stabilizer (ship)
Ship stabilizers are fins mounted beneath the waterline and emerging laterally. In contemporary vessels, they may be gyroscopically controlled active fins, which have the capacity to change their angle of attack to counteract roll caused by wind or waves acting on the ship.The bilge keel is an...
was damaged and 1.5 meter hole was bored at the bottom. Local preliminary school children who visited the ship at the earthquake spent one night in the ship and were rescued by Japan Self-Defense Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
helicopters next day. The ship was repaired at a dock in Shingū, Wakayama
Shingu, Wakayama
is a city located in Wakayama, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 32,288, with a household number of 16,003, and the density of 126.41 persons per km². The total area is 255.43 km²....
and back to service in June 2011.
In popular culture
The D/V Chikyū is featured and plays a pivotal role in the 2006 film Nihon Chinbotsu.See also
- Scientific drillingScientific drillingScientific drilling is a way to probe down into the Earth, allowing scientists and students to obtain samples of sediments, crust, and upper mantle. In addition to rock samples, drilling technology allows humans to obtain samples of connate fluids and of the subsurface biosphere, mostly microbial...
program- Project MoholeProject MoholeProject Mohole was an ambitious attempt to drill through the Earth's crust into the Mohorovičić discontinuity, and to provide an Earth science complement to the high profile Space Race. The project was initially led by the American Miscellaneous Society with funding from the National Science...
- Kola Superdeep BoreholeKola Superdeep BoreholeThe Kola Superdeep Borehole is the result of a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union in Kola Peninsula. The project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth's crust. Drilling began on 24 May 1970 using the Uralmash-4E, and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig. A...
- Ocean Drilling ProgramOcean Drilling ProgramThe Ocean Drilling Program was an international cooperative effort to explore and study the composition and structure of the Earth's ocean basins. ODP, which began in 1985, was the direct successor to the highly successful Deep Sea Drilling Project initiated in 1968 by the United States...
- San Andreas Fault Observatory at DepthSan Andreas Fault Observatory at DepthThe San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth is one of three components of the Earthscope Project, funded by the National Science Foundation in conjunction with the USGS and NASA. The SAFOD site is located just north of the town of Parkfield, California...
- Integrated Ocean Drilling ProgramIntegrated Ocean Drilling ProgramThe Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is an international marine research program. The program uses heavy drilling equipment mounted aboard ships to monitor and sample sub-seafloor environments...
- Project Mohole
- Scientific drilling ships
- JOIDES ResolutionJOIDES Resolutionthumb|right|295px|Drillship JOIDES Resolution in 1988JOIDES Resolution is a scientific drilling ship once used by the Ocean Drilling Program, then by its successor, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. It is the successor of the Glomar Challenger.The ship was launched as Sedco/BP 471, an oil...
- Glomar ChallengerGlomar ChallengerThe 120m long Glomar Challenger was a deep sea research and scientific drilling vessel for oceanography and marine geology studies. It was designed by Global Marine Inc...
- JOIDES Resolution
- Mohorovičić discontinuityMohorovičić discontinuityThe Mohorovičić discontinuity , usually referred to as the Moho, is the boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle. Named after the pioneering Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić, the Moho separates both the oceanic crust and continental crust from underlying mantle...
- EarthscopeEarthscopeEarthScope is an earth science program using geological and geophysical techniques to explore the structure and evolution of the North American continent and to understand the processes controlling earthquakes and volcanoes. Thousands of geophysical instruments will comprise a dense grid covering...
- USARRAYUSARRAYUSArray is one of the three components of the Earthscope project, funded by the National Science Foundation and being constructed, operated, and maintained as a collaborative effort with UNAVCO Inc., the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, and Stanford University, with contributions...