Groundbreaking Discovery: Scientists Unveil Hidden ‘Ocean’ of Water Within Earth’s Mantle

One scientific articleentitled ‘Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle‘, published in 2014 in “Science Magazine”, and describes the discovery of a large reservoir of water that was 640 kilometers deep in rock – named ‘ringwoodite’. The “hidden ocean” would be beneath the Earth’s crust and its water reserve is stored within the rock, in the mantle, in a sponge-like state – the fourth state of not being liquid, solid or gaseous.

“There is something very special about ringwoodite’s crystalline structure that allows it to attract hydrogen and hold water. This mineral can hold a lot of water under deep conditions,” explained geophysicist Steve Jacobsen at the time of the release.

In the study, the authors say that if the rock contained only 1% water, this would still mean that there is three times more material under the surface of the planet than in the oceans. The research began with an analysis of earthquakes that drew attention to seismometers that were capturing shock waves on the Earth’s surface – the main indicator that water was trapped in the rock.

“I think we are finally seeing evidence of an Earth-wide water cycle, which could help explain the amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been looking for this lost deep water for decades,” Jacobsen said.