The researchers found evidence of water between two layers of the planet where its presence was thought to be impossible.
As children, we are taught in school that there are several layers that make up our planet. The first, where we are standing is the Cortexthen comes the mantlewhich in turn is divided into two: higher and lower; and finally the external nucleus and the inner core. At first, this seems pretty straightforward; however, there are many secrets and complexities between the composition of each layer and the space between one and the other.
For some time, experts have suspected that between the mantle transition zone and the lower mantle, in the depths of the asthenosphere, there could be water. Although they believed that it would not be in a liquid state, now, a recent investigation raised the possibilities that an ocean exists in said layer.
In an article published in the magazine Nature They noted the presence of water at a depth of 660 kilometers. The text «Hydrated peridotitic fragments of the terrestrial mantle. Discontinuity of 660 km sampled by a diamond» it reveals that there is a “water-saturated environment” in the transition zone and that hydric conditions extend at least into the lower mantle.
Water.
Also at an early age we are told about the water cycle and its states. We know that we can find the vital liquid also in solid and gaseous form and that these states are part of the cycle. Water on the surface evaporates and forms clouds that then return to the ground as raindrops. Depending on several factors, it can also fall as ice or snow that melts and starts the cycle all over again.
Of course, the process is much more complicated, and in fact, little is known about the cycle in subterranean regions. The deepest well in the world measures more than 12 kilometers and is located on the Kola Peninsula, Russia. But still, it’s not enough to determine what happens to the water beyond that point.
Thus, researchers have made many efforts to find out what happens in the depths of the Earth. And finally they have paid off thanks to a diamond. The analysis showed that it is very likely that there is an ocean well beyond the mantle with its complete water cycle.
The diamond.
A team of researchers from the goethe university analyzed a very rare diamond that was found in the Karowe mine, in botswana.
On the precious stone they found traces of ringwoodite, ferropericlase, enstatite along with other minerals from the lower mantle and water phases. These factors place the source of the diamond to a depth of 660 kilometers. Using FTIR spectrometry they concluded that the gem had a high water content, which means that where it originated is a space saturated in such a liquid.
The transition site between the crust and the upper mantle is between the 410 and 660 kilometers deep. Minerals such as olivine, peridot, wadsleyite and ringwoodite abound here, which have a large water storage capacity. Thus, researchers from the Goethe University have the theory that there is a sixth ocean hundreds of kilometers below our feet.