Earth is not just a solid ball. It’s interior, as much as its exterior, is a subject of great fascination. You must be aware that Earth’s interior has three major layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core. But did you know there is a vast reservoir of water, three times the volume of all the oceans, deep in the Earth’s mantle?
It is hidden inside a blue rock called ringwoodite and lies 700 km underground in an area called the transition zone in the mantle, the layer of hot rock between the crust and core. Ringwoodite is a rare mineral that forms under very high pressure and temperature, such as those present in the mantle’s transition zone.
The reservoir was discovered in 2014 and it threw new light on the origin of Earth’s water. All along, geologists had thought water came from icy comets as they struck the planet during its formation. But the discovery supports an alternative idea that the oceans came from within the interior of early Earth.
The hidden water could also act as a buffer for the oceans on the surface, explaining why they have stayed the same size for millions of years.
Picture Credit : Google