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Chinese scientists have reached 302.07 meters below the seafloor during a scientific drilling and coring mission on the northern shelf of the South China Sea, setting a new record for Quaternary core drillings in Chinese shelf areas. Researchers announced the breakthrough after completing the latest expedition aboard Haiyang Dizhi-10, or literally Ocean Geology 10, a domestically built marine geological survey vessel, on Friday. Offshore drilling represents the most direct method for probing the Earth's interior, enabling geoscientists to collect sediment and rock samples from deep within the Earth.