UK: According to a recent study published in the journal ‘Nature’, there could be a sixth ocean under the Earth’s crust. The transition zone, which extends hundreds of kilometers into the Earth’s interior, is where the upper and lower mantles of our planet meet.
Based on an analysis of an extremely rare diamond believed to have formed at a depth of about 410 miles below Botswana, an international team of scientists concluded that there is much more water and carbon dioxide trapped than previously thought in this region.
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According to Frank Brenker, a researcher at the Institute of Geosciences at Goethe University Frankfurt, “Our research has shown that the transition zone is not a dry sponge, but contains substantial amounts of water. This also makes the concept Jules Verne’s An Ocean Inside the Earth One Step Closer.”
Branker continued, “These sediments can store significant amounts of CO2 and water.” But until this point, it was unknown how much water enters the transition zone in the form of more stable, hydrated minerals and carbonates, making it doubtful that there is significant water storage.”
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In fact, the transition zone alone may hold up to six times more water than the combined volume of all of Earth’s seas, the claim states.
The team’s diamond sample originated in an area of the Earth’s mantle where ringwoodite, an element that can hold water relatively well but only develops under extremely high pressures and temperatures, is the most common.
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The diamond studied included ringwoodite and therefore also water, which was the smoking gun for the researchers.
After examining a comparable diamond in 2014, scientists had a hunch that Earth’s transition zone had plenty of water; however, the most recent study lends more support to this hypothesis.
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A mechanical engineering graduate, he writes about science, technology and sports, teaches physics and mathematics, also played cricket professionally and is passionate about bodybuilding.
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