Researchers found a small diamond pointing to the existence of a large water tank under the mantle of the Earth , about 600 kilometers deep and that its size could fill three times the oceans we know.
The study's lead author, Graham Pearson, a member of the University of Alberta in Canada, said "One of the reasons Earth is a dynamic planet is the presence of water inside. Water changes depend on how the world works. "
After discussing the theory for decades, scientists report that they have finally found a great ocean in the Earth's mantle, three times larger than the oceans that we know.
This surprising finding suggests that the surface water comes from the interior of the planet as part of an integrated water cycle, displacing the dominant theory that water was brought to Earth by icy comets that have passed through here a million years.
Increasingly, scientists are learning about the composition of our planet, including events related to climate change. The weather and the sea are closely related to the tectonic activity that has been continuously vibrating under our feet.
So the researchers believe that water on the surface of the Earth could have come from the interior of the planet and was "driven" to the surface by geological activity.
After numerous studies and complex calculations to test his theories, the researchers believe they have found a giant water tank in a transition zone between the upper and lower layers of the mantle, a region that lies somewhere between 400 and 660 km below the surface of the earth.
As we know, the water occupies most of the surface area of our planet, which paradoxically is called the Earth. While it is true that, in comparison with the terrestrial diameter the depth of the oceans represent only a thin layer similar to peel an onion, we have now found that the presence of precious liquid is not limited to the visible surface.
In fact, about a hundred kilometers deep underground there are huge volumes of water, with a fundamental importance for understanding the geological dynamics of the planet. Nearly one ocean in the center of the Earth.
The discovery of the underground ocean
The important discovery was made by Canadian researchers, who are based in a diamond found on a rock in 2008 in an area known as Juina in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
The discovery occurred by accident, because the team that was actually looking for another mineral, have bought the diamond of some miners who had found through a gravel collection in a shallow river.To drill into the rock a student discovered a year later, the diamond, only three millimeters in diameter and little commercial value contained in its composition a mineral called Ringwoodite, which until now had only been found in meteorite rocks and which contains significant amounts of water. However, the final confirmation of the presence of the mineral took many years, it was necessary to carry out several tests and scientific analyzes.
Where does this mineral?
Detailed analysis of the sample revealed that found in this case not from the mineral meteorites, but the earth's mantle, at a depth of about 410 to 660 km, in an area which is called "transition zone".
Previously, it was discussed a lot about the possibility of large amounts of water several kilometers below the basement, but had never before shown any real proof of this theory, which has very important implications for how we understand the planetary geological phenomena, because it is believed that this is the most abundant mineral in the mantle zone. Thus, as the sample found to have 1.5 percent of its weight in water, it can be said that there are really extraordinary volumes of water, like a big ocean.
This discovery is undoubtedly one of the most important made in the field of geology in recent years, and will force the experts to modify, to some extent, the approach that has been used so far to analyze phenomena like volcanism, tectonic plates and many others importance of understanding processes in the Earth's dynamics - whose name, after this discovery, became even more paradoxical.
The peculiarity of this discovery is that this water does not exist in any of the three states that we know: liquid, solid or gaseous. The water was found in molecular structures of rock formations inside the Earth.
A concentration as important water behind a significant change in the theories concerning the origin of water on Earth's surface.
This discovery is proof that in the deepest parts of our planet, water can be stored. A fact that may put an end to a controversy of 25 years on the earth's center is wet or dry in some areas.
The ability to store water inside is not unique to Earth. Other planets, like Mars, may contain large amounts of water, which makes us wonder whether the Red Planet could harbor life.
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