WHEN SCIENTISTS DISCOVER Puddles of Water Below the Earth's Surface 3 Times the Size of the Ocean
- Scientists have discovered an ocean beneath the Earth's surface that is three times larger than the ocean on the Earth's surface.
The discovery was published in the journal Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle in 2014.
The discovered water supply is available in large quantities and is hidden under the Earth's crust.
The location of the ocean is 400 miles or 643.73 kilometers underground and cannot be accessed, quoted from Unilad, Wednesday (3/4/2024).
A geophysicist who was part of the discovery team, Steve Jacobsen, said that this finding was obtained after studying earthquakes, reported by Indy100.
Explore the ocean using the OceanX exploration ship Alucia. (Luis Lamar) ()
Where does the water come from?
In this research, scientists discovered that seismometers captured shock waves beneath the Earth's surface.
From there, scientists confirmed that there was water held by a mineral rock called ringwoodite.
Ringwoodite functions as a sponge or absorbent for most of the water molecules in the Earth's crust.
This discovery is expected to help scientists determine how the Earth formed.
In addition, the development of this discovery will strengthen the theory that water on Earth comes from within, not from outer space, such as from asteroids or comets.
"I think we're finally seeing evidence of a water cycle throughout the Earth."
"This discovery can help explain how large amounts of water on the surface of habitable planets are," said Jacobsen.
Jacobsen also said that scientists have been searching for the lost deep waters for decades.
In the future, Jacobsen and his team want to find out whether this ocean-like layer covers the entire Earth or not.
Ringwoodite mineral. (HO)
Get to know ringwoodite which holds the oceans in the bowels of the Earth
The mineral ringwoodite was first extracted from Earth in 2014.
These mineral grains are found in diamonds mined in Brazil.
The small fragments of the mineral ringwoodite are less than 40 micrometers long, as reported by Lets Talk Science.
The diamonds originally came from the Earth's mantle transition zone.
The transition zone is located several hundred kilometers below the surface.
It is in this zone that high temperatures and pressure produce ringwoodite from olivine, another mineral located in the transition zone.
In the transition zone, olivine is heated and compressed, eventually becoming ringwoodite.
Eventually, diamonds form around the ringwoodite and volcanoes bring the diamonds to the surface.
As an illustration, ringwoodite is not liquid, solid or gas, but is a fourth molecular structure contained in the mantle.
Jacobsen said that ringwoodite has properties like a sponge that can absorb water.
However, ringwoodite does not absorb water in liquid form, but water that is still in the form of H2O molecules.
Apart from that, he also said that this mineral has a special structure because it allows it to attract hydrogen and hold water.
“These minerals can contain a lot of water in the Earth's mantle,” Jacobsen said.
When compared to water on the surface of the Earth, in ringwoodite which contains 1 percent water, the amount reaches three times the amount of water on the surface of the Earth.