Posted on 03/04/2025 1:12:55 PM PST by Red Badger
University of Helsinki scientists discovered poor air quality markers in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOC) deep in Finland’s 25-year-old Outokumpu deep drill hole, revealing new concerns for carbon generation and the safety of nuclear waste storage.
In the modern world, VOCs typically indicate poor air quality and industrial pollution due to human activities. However, some natural environments, like volcanoes and hydrothermal vents, also release potential toxins. Previous work at the Outokumpu deep drill hole uncovered groundwater that may be tens of millions of years old, displaying an environment shaped long before industrialization.
Collecting from Outokumpu From 2004 to 2005, the Geological Survey of Finland drilled the Outokompu borehole, which currently reaches a depth of 2,516 meters, as a geo-laboratory for scientific researchers. Over the last two decades, various international groups have studied the hole’s seismic, magnetic, thermal, and other properties.
For the recent study, researchers at the University of Helsinki and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland extracted samples of gases and microbes, providing a rare look into VOCs in crystalline bedrock and the ancient water contained within. Their work located VOCs at depths from 500 to 2,300 meters, illustrating the extensive sediment range.
VOCs constitute a diverse array of carbon-containing substances produced by over 600 bacterial and 300 fungi species. Natural subterranean non-methane carbon production from VOCs remains poorly understood, a neglected topic compared to methane or human-driven carbon contributions. Necessitating the need for such research, a vast estimated microbial biomass is buried deep in the subsurface, which may play a much more significant role in the global carbon cycle than previously realized.
Air Quality and the Carbon Underground The researchers’ discoveries help enrich scientists’ understanding of subterranean air quality and Earth’s carbon cycle. The work revealed that bacteria and fungi integrate into the VOC cycle by both producing and breaking down the compounds. The makeup of the surrounding bedrock, such as its carbon or sulfur content, also impacted the concentration and composition of the compounds. Intense odors associated with many VOCs, like aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, enabled the researchers to locate the compounds easily deep below the Earth.
“We were guided to the volatile organic compounds by smell,” says Assistant Professor Riikka Kietäväinen from the University of Helsinki, who oversaw the geochemical section of the study.
“Depending on the sniffer, the smell of the bedrock groundwater in the Outokumpu drill hole was described as resembling the ocean or the sewer, even slightly sweet. Attempts to pinpoint the source of the smell more accurately were made through analytical techniques, using thermal desorption-gas chromatography mass spectrometry,” Kietäväinen adds.
Discovering Subterranean Air Quality Analyzing the multitude of compounds hiding in the Outokumpu deep drill hole, researchers located more than 40 different VOCs. Butane, benzene, and dimethylsulfide were the predominant compounds in the mix, but smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones, and aldehydes also filled the bore.
“We studied the possible role of microbes in the formation or degradation of these VOCs by analyzing genomic data on the microbial community,” says Senior Scientist Mari Nyyssönen of VTT.
“In the deep bedrock, microbes have few different sources of nutrients and carbon, and the results of the study show that these VOCs bring new kinds of opportunities to the microbial dinner table,” Nyyssönen adds.
Multiple pieces of evidence suggest the VOCs represent an indigenous development in the Outokumpu deep drill hole. Previous research into the hole’s fluid flow, isotope geochemistry, and residence time indicates that the fracture systems are isolated. The 500-meter minimum depth minimizes the chance of groundwater contamination.
High concentrations of these compounds in underground environments can have corrosive effects, causing concern for geothermal wells and underground nuclear waste storage.
The research team’s new paper, “Naturally Occurring Volatile Organic Compounds in Deep Bedrock Groundwater,” appeared on January 31, 2025, in Communications Earth & Environment.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
2,516 meters = 8,254.5 feet for those who want to know in feet.
Well, they did throw money down black holes, but I don’t think this was one of them!.............
Oh.
Well, nothing like a human, but it would still be traumatizing to see a gerbil fall in there.
I know little on this subject.
Previously, I had understaood nuclear waste was carried on rockets as ‘payloads’ into space?
Does anyone know here what the U.S.is doing today on disposal?
I only found this article:
.
.
ARTICLE
The Good, the Bad and the Extraterrestrial: The Decades-Long Struggle to Dispose of Nuclear Waste
Andrew Newman
Aug 31, 2021
https://www.nti.org/risky-business/the-good-the-bad-and-the-extraterrestrial-the-decades-long-struggle-to-dispose-of-nuclear-waste/
occurring without loss or gain of heat
Adiabatic oil is not a term commonly used in the context of oil formation or extraction. However, the concept of adiabatic compression is relevant in the context of oil exploration and extraction, particularly in understanding the behavior of gases and fluids under high pressure and temperature conditions. For example, adiabatic compression can occur when oxygen cylinders are quickly opened, leading to a sudden increase in local pressure and temperature, which can pose safety risks. Regarding oil formation, the abiotic oil theory proposes that some oil and natural gas deposits are formed inorganically, without the involvement of biological matter. This theory suggests that hydrocarbons can be synthesized deep within the Earth's mantle and then migrate to the surface.
However, the scientific consensus overwhelmingly supports a biogenic origin for most of the world's oil deposits, meaning that oil is primarily formed from the decomposition of long-dead organisms.
The abiotic oil theory, while not widely accepted, has gained some attention due to findings like the Eugene Island oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, which showed unexpected increases in production and changes in the geological age of the oil.
Some researchers, such as Vladimir Kutcherov and Alexander Kitchka, argue that a significant portion of oil deposits could be of abiotic origin and that oil may be found in geological structures where it is not traditionally sought.
It is important to note that while the abiotic oil theory challenges the conventional understanding of oil formation, the majority of scientific evidence still supports the biogenic origin of oil.
But scientific evidence is not necessarily accurate or correct.
See, it's not just us. We're actually one supervolcano away from a year without Summer--or double the CO2 parts per million, depending on what gases get belched out.
More likely some drunken Finnish worker pissed down the hole😱
See 536 AD the worst year ever!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_winter_of_536
The earth it does things!
In the end, they’re going to find out that Detlef Furbisnogger dumped the used oil from his Saab down the pipe.
How many people did the Oklo natural nuclear reactors, along with their fissions products, kill when they were operating without containment or an environmental impact statement 1.7 billion years ago?
As a Gen X’er who suffered being taught both the English and Metric systems poorly your comment immediately brought to mind how America s are forced to constantly make conversion in their heads to understand metric measurements. Below is hilarious skit poking fun at the issue.
Washington's Dream - Weights and Measures by SNL hilarious
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk
Well, don't tell the fekkin democrats.
8551 feet depth is not great in oil field perspective. Would guess that it is not cased except for the surface casing of not given depth.
Questions lacking answers is; how did they evacuated the mud?
How did they clean off the bore hole walls?
How did they remove the drilling mud at depth that would have flowed into lower zones by way of hydrostatic pressure?
After 25 years, is some of their sampling the decomposition of embedded drilling mud at depth?
“Fortunately, humans do not live 1.56336992 miles below the surface of the earth.”
Not humans. :)
That was hilarious. Thanks for sharing. 🤣
More likely the fellow dropped some rotted fish or whatever the Finns eat.
How many people did the Oklo natural nuclear reactors, along with their fissions products, kill when they were operating without containment or an environmental impact statement 1.7 billion years ago?
—
lots! It was an experiment that when haywire. The perps paid dearly and promptly went extinct.
Would Zelenskyy fit? He's just a little guy after all.
“Fortunately, humans do not live 1.56336992 miles below the surface of the earth.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, they do but not for 24 hours a day and they can’t do it without help....
The deepest mine in the world is the Mponeng Gold Mine in South Africa, which reaches a depth of approximately 13,123 feet (4 kilometers) below the Earth’s surface. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1fbd5zr/til_that_the_deepest_mine_in_the_world_mponeng/?rdt=38577
At that depth, the walls would be 140 degrees F if they didn’t use cooling. For the record, there are mines that hit that temperature at lower depth than the Mponeng mine.... there are many factors that go into what the temperature might be but the depth of the earth’s crust is a big one.
Abiotic.
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