Newly Discovered Water Leaking from Earth’s Crust into the Planet’s Core

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth’s Interior: Water’s Journey to the Core

The Earth’s interior remains shrouded in mystery, with many unknowns waiting to be discovered. Recently, scientists made a groundbreaking revelation: water is slowly seeping into the planet’s core from the surface.

This journey is far from simple. The water trickles down the descending tectonic plates, embarking on a 2,900-kilometer odyssey before finally reaching the core.

Despite the slow process, over billions of years, it has been instrumental in creating a new layer between the outer core’s molten metal and the Earth’s outer mantle.

In a new study, researchers at Arizona State University unveiled that the water triggers a chemical reaction, leading to the formation of a “few hundred kilometers thick” new layer. This may seem “thin” in the context of the Earth’s inner layers, but it signifies a significant development.

“For years, it has been believed that material exchange between Earth’s core and mantle is small. Yet, our recent high-pressure experiments reveal a different story,” co-author Dr. Dan Shim explained.

“We found that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it reacts with silicon in the core, forming silica. This discovery, along with our previous observation of diamonds forming from water reacting with carbon in iron liquid under extreme pressure, points to a far more dynamic core-mantle interaction, suggesting substantial material exchange.”

So, what does this mean for us on the surface?

The ASU release highlighted, “This finding advances our understanding of Earth’s internal processes, suggesting a more extensive global water cycle than previously recognized.” It added, “The altered ‘film’ of the core has profound implications for the geochemical cycles that connect the surface-water cycle with the deep metallic core.”

How to join the indy100’s free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Reference

Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
DMCA compliant image

Leave a Comment