illustration bumi / freepik
JAKARTA, kilat.com- A new study says that earth’s core, which consists of molten nickel and iron, rusts. The study was published in the journal Advancing Earth and Space Science.
Launching from Wion News on Tuesday (31/5/2022), rust occurs when iron is exposed to moist air or oxygenated water, causing a chemical reaction that leaves a reddish residue and makes strong iron weak.
Since the core lies 1,800 miles (2,900 km) below the Earth’s surface, it is assumed that the high-pressure environment and lack of water-carrying minerals have protected the molten outer core from rust.
But recent experiments have shown that rust can form at high pressures and could possibly form in locations where water-rich slabs of Earth’s crust have sunk to the core-mantle boundary.
In the experiment, the scientist creates the high pressure conditions that would exist in the earth’s core. Then they introduced moisture to the iron in the form of minerals containing hydroxyl.
Also Read:
Circulation Economy is a Solution to Preserve the Earth, How come?
At a pressure of nearly a million atmospheres, scientists discovered that a chemical reaction produces iron peroxide, which has the same structure as pyrite. This suggests that rust formation could have occurred in the Earth’s core as well.
This rust could explain the deep water cycle in the lower mantle and the origin of the small, thin ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) above the Earth’s fluid core that significantly slows seismic waves. It could also help answer questions about the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), which marked the beginning of Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere about 2.5 billion to 2.3 billion years ago, says a report in the journal. Advancing Earth and Space Science.
But scientists have yet to identify the cause of the oxygenation event that might trigger rust.
They must now prove their hypothesis after analyzing the plumes of fresh lava erupting from the volcano.
“If the pieces of the puzzle all fall into place, then rust at the core, perhaps indeed a massive internal oxygen generator on Earth and the next major atmospheric oxygenation event could occur,” the report said.
Also Read:
Wow! Scientists Detect New Unique, Highly Reactive Substance in Earth’s Atmosphere
–
