Message in a stainless steel bottle thrown into deep geological time

Abstract

In the 60th year after the placing of the corner stone under the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund (PPSH; Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway), a new capsule has been laid down in the vicinity of the PPSH. It is made of stainless steel, and includes five stainless steel containers, each carrying a message on different themes in our lives. The message is written in the language of objects, each of them speaking for itself. The capsule with containers has been buried in a 4.2 m deep hole, drilled for scientific purposes. The host rocks for the capsule are the Precambrian gneisses, representing the basement of the polar archipelago. We estimate that the capsule, now some 6 m a.s.l., will appear again on the surface after ca. 0.5 Ma, due to the combined effect of uplift and erosion. We also believe that it will be found, and the message understood, contrary to other messages sent by mankind into space.