Scientists have discovered a giant ocean hidden deep within the Earth. It’s an ocean found at a depth of more than 700 kilometers. This ocean is hidden, trapped within a mineral known as ringwoodite. The discovery is massive, as the size of the underground sea is so vast that it triples the volume of all the planet’s surface oceans combined.
Earth’s oceans may have slowly seeped out from its very core
This study, published in Science, suggests that water on our planet doesn’t come solely from ice-rich comets and asteroids, as prevailing theories suggested. Instead, Earth’s oceans may have slowly seeped out from its very core. Thus, researchers have focused their analysis on ringwoodite, a mineral that forms under intense pressure in the transition zone of the Earth’s mantle.
How water has been discovered in the deepest depths of the planet
On the one hand, researchers used an array of 2,000 seismometers across the United States to analyze seismic waves from more than 500 earthquakes. These waves, which travel through the Earth’s inner layers, slow down as they pass through wet rock, allowing scientists to deduce the presence of water.
On the other hand, the process, known as dehydration melting, occurs when ringwoodite, a deep blue mineral, expels the water trapped in its crystalline structure as it is forced into deeper layers by the movement of tectonic plates. This release triggers the formation of magma, visible to seismologists as traces of water in the mantle.
Geological sponge: The crystalline structure of ringwoodite allows for the retention of water in the form of hydroxyl ions
Steven Jacobsen, a researcher at Northwestern University in Illinois and the lead author of the study, says, “This is tangible evidence that water on Earth came from within.” The crystalline structure of ringwoodite allows for the retention of water in the form of hydroxyl ions, functioning as a kind of geological sponge. According to Jacobsen, this hidden reservoir could also explain why the size of the world’s oceans has remained consistent over millions of years.
A possibility: Other rocky planets with similar geological structures may contain internal water reserves
This discovery may hold monumental answers, even raising questions about the possibility that other rocky planets with similar geological structures may contain internal water reserves. Researchers are interested in collecting more seismic data from around the world to determine if this mantle melting is a common phenomenon.
Jacobsen: “I think we’re finally seeing evidence of a global water cycle, which could explain the abundance of liquid water on Earth”
These findings could revolutionize our understanding of the water cycle on Earth, the planet’s most valuable resource. “I think we’re finally seeing evidence of a global water cycle, which could explain the abundance of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been searching for this lost water for decades,” Jacobsen noted.
Researchers are wondering whether planets like Mars may have reservoirs of water within them
This is a discovery of highly significant proportions. After centuries, something almost unthinkable for many has been discovered. Researchers are wondering whether planets like Mars or some exoplanets may have reservoirs of water within them, as Earth does. If so, conditions for human life could be more favorable than previously thought.
This discovery helps answer age-old questions, while opening the door to new doubts and questions. If this is the case, it not only raises the possibility that the Earth itself generates its own water sources, but also the species that may have lived or originated in this type of sediment. Life can be created between layers; the possibilities, once again, are endless. Just like the unanswered questions.
