Our planet’s inner workings are still shrouded in mystery, but a recent scientific discovery has shed light on a fascinating process: water slowly seeping down into the Earth’s depths from the surface.
This journey is anything but straightforward. The water trickles down through descending tectonic plates, embarking on a 2,900-kilometer voyage before finally reaching the core.
Over billions of years, this gradual process has given rise to a new layer between the molten metal of the outer core and the Earth’s outer mantle.
In a groundbreaking study conducted at Arizona State University, scientists revealed that the water triggers a chemical reaction, resulting in the formation of a “few hundred kilometers thick” layer – a remarkably thin structure in the context of the Earth’s inner layers.
Co-author Dr. Dan Shim elaborated on this discovery, stating, “Our recent high-pressure experiments indicate a significant material exchange between Earth’s core and mantle, contrary to previous beliefs. When water interacts with silicon in the core at the core-mantle boundary, it forms silica.”
Furthermore, Dr. Shim highlighted a previous observation of diamonds forming from water reacting with carbon in iron liquid under extreme pressure, pointing to a far more dynamic core-mantle interaction and substantial material exchange.
But what does all of this mean for us at the surface level?
The ASU study’s findings have important implications, as the release explained, “This discovery enhances our comprehension of Earth’s internal processes, suggesting a more extensive global water cycle than previously acknowledged. The altered ‘film’ of the core has profound implications for the geochemical cycles that connect the surface-water cycle with the deep metallic core.”
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