DRILLING INTO MOLTEN LAVA IN THE KILAUEA IKI VOLCANIC CRATER, HAWAII
An expriment was conducted to obtain kowledge of the problems encountered when drilling through the crust of a lava lake into molten rock. The experiment demonstrated that it is possible to drill into hard rock at temperatures up to 85O deg C with standard core-drilling equipment, using compressed air to cool the rock and remove the cuttings. By using water to cool the rock and drilling with water periodically inject into the compressed air line, it was possible to drill into rock that was at temperatures exceeding 1050 deg C. A thermocouple package was installed in pipe at three points in the lava lake crust to study the cooling his tory. Complete chemical and petrographic analyses on the core and melt are planned. (M.C.G.)
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Livermore
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-012667
- OSTI ID:
- 4079439
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-6129
- Journal Information:
- Nature, Journal Name: Nature Vol. Vol: 188
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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