• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Massive ‘ocean’ discovered towards Earth’s core

Alpha One Seven

Alpha One Seven

Golden Member
By Andy Coghlan

A reservoir of water three times the volume of all the oceans has been discovered deep beneath the Earth’s surface. The finding could help explain where Earth’s seas came from.

The water is hidden inside a blue rock called ringwoodite that lies 700 kilometres underground in the mantle, the layer of hot rock between Earth’s surface and its core.

The huge size of the reservoir throws new light on the origin of Earth’s water. Some geologists think water arrived in comets as they struck the planet, but the new discovery supports an alternative idea that the oceans gradually oozed out of the interior of the early Earth.
Click to expand...

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25723-massive-ocean-discovered-towards-earths-core/

Not new news, but something not a lot of folks know about.
 
Considering how deep the oceans are and that they cover most of the surface of our planet, to think there's three times that amount sitting in a rock far under the surface is crazy.
 
Deepest we have ever drilled is around 8 miles. I would not exactly call this an iron clad discovery. More like a theory he has and needs to set himself up with enough grants to have a cushy life following this up for years and years. But hey maybe that's just me being a pessimist.
 
rh71 said:
So how long until we go and discover this reservoir beneath the surface of Mars?
Click to expand...
That would work if the earth is really flat and Mars is on the flip side. What is on the flip side of the flat earth? <Off to google that.>
 

Rare Diamond Confirms That Earth's Mantle Holds an Ocean's Worth of Water March 2014.

The diamond contains ringwoodite, which is water-rich but only forms naturally under the extreme pressure found in Earth's mantle.
Click to expand...

water_mantle_transition_web.svg

https://www.theguardian.com/science...underground-ocean-three-times-that-on-surface

The water is locked up in a mineral called ringwoodite about 660km (400 miles) beneath the crust of the Earth.
Ringwoodite acts like a sponge due to a crystal structure that makes it attract hydrogen and trap water.
If just 1% of the weight of mantle rock located in the transition zone was water it would be equivalent to nearly three times the amount of water in our oceans.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
So that's where all the water from Noah's Ark went!

Seriously though, if they found dead organic matter in there that would be a rather interesting discovery. Or heck, new life forms. I imagine that water must be extremely hot though, like past boiling point.
 
Red Squirrel said:
So that's where all the water from Noah's Ark went!

Seriously though, if they found dead organic matter in there that would be a rather interesting discovery. Or heck, new life forms. I imagine that water must be extremely hot though, like past boiling point.
Click to expand...
The water is theorized to be locked within the crystal lattice of the ringwoodite.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top