8 months ago
Chinese Researchers Discover Earth's Mantle Stored Ancient Oceans
Scientists in China found out how Earth might have stored a lot of water a long time ago.
They discovered that a special rock called bridgmanite in the deep part of Earth, called the mantle, can hold water.
This happened when Earth was very hot and had oceans of magma.
The scientists did experiments to show that bridgmanite can trap water, especially when it's very hot.
This water was stored deep inside Earth and slowly came back to the surface through volcanoes over billions of years, making our planet habitable.
This helps us understand how Earth became the blue, watery world we live on today.
Chinese researchers discovered that Earth's deep mantle could have stored large amounts of water over 4 billion years ago.
Bridgmanite, the most common mineral in the lower mantle, can trap water molecules, especially at high temperatures.
The study used a diamond anvil cell and laser heating to recreate the extreme conditions of the lower mantle.
The water stored in the mantle could be equivalent to 0.08 to 1 times the volume of today's oceans.
This water slowly returned to the surface through volcanic activity, contributing to Earth's habitability.
- Who
- Researchers at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- What
- Discovery of how Earth's deep mantle stored large amounts of water billions of years ago
- Where
- Earth's deep mantle
- When
- More than 4 billion years ago
- Why
- To understand Earth's early evolution and the role of deep mantle minerals in maintaining life-supporting conditions
Key facts
- Researchers
- Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Study Focus
- Water storage in Earth's deep mantle
- Key Mineral
- Bridgmanite
- Timeframe
- More than 4 billion years ago
- Water Storage Capacity
- 0.08 to 1 times today's oceans
- Study Method
- Diamond anvil cell and laser heating
- Publication
- Journal Science




