What are the benefits of scientific deep-drilling? Discuss the challenges associated with it.
- 12 Jul 2024
The Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has been executing India’s sole scientific deep-drilling programme at Koyna, Maharashtra.
Scientific Deep-drilling
Scientific deep-drilling is the enterprise of strategically digging boreholes to analyse deeper parts of the earth’s crust. It offers opportunities and access to study earthquakes and expands our understanding of the planet’s history, rock types, energy resources, life forms, climate change patterns.
Benefits
Deep Understanding of Earthquakes
- Deep-drilling provides access to depths where earthquakes originate, offering insights beyond surface observations.
Hub of In situ Experiments
- Scientifically drilled boreholes can be a hub of direct, unique in situ experiments and observations and monitor a region’s fault lines and seismic behaviour.
Fundamental Knowledge of Earth’s Crust
- It provides exact and fundamental knowledge of the composition of the earth’s crust, structure, and processes, and helps validate models based on surface studies.
Mitigating Geohazards
- Data from deep-drilling can help devise solutions for geohazards and utilization of geo-resources, crucial for societal applications.
Technological Development
- It can also spur the development of tools and equipment for drilling, observation, data analysis, sensors, etc.
Associated Challenges
- Labour and Capital Intensive: Scientific deep-drilling is a challenging method as it is both labour and capital intensive.
- Earth’s Complex Interior: The earth’s interior is also a hot, dark, high-pressure region that hinders long and continuous operations.
