ICDPInternational Continental Scientific Drilling Program

The Samail ophiolite is composed of igneous crust and upper mantle formed at a submarine spreading center, via processes very similar to those at mid-ocean ridges today. Drilling will provide key data on the processes of melt extraction from the mantle, igneous accretion of oceanic crust, and hydrothermal modification of that crust. Drilling will also investigate present day alteration processes, their relationship to the deep biosphere, and their potential for acceleration to achieve carbon capture and storage via in situ mineral carbonation.