Scientists at Northwestern University have made a groundbreaking discovery: an ocean exists within the Earth’s mantle. By analyzing data from 2,000 seismographs across the U.S. and studying tremors from over 500 earthquakes, they found that seismic waves slowed down in a specific mantle region, suggesting the presence of water.
This water is trapped within a mineral known as ringwoodite, which forms under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. The findings bolster the theory that Earth’s oceans may have originated from water seeping up from the mantle rather than from cometary impacts. This provides a plausible explanation for the consistent size of surface oceans over millions of years.
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It’s important to note that this “ocean” is not liquid in the traditional sense; instead, the water exists as molecules within the crystal structure of ringwoodite. This allows for significant storage of water in a compact form, acting as a vast reservoir that stabilizes Earth’s oceans. The existence of this water reservoir is crucial—without it, the only visible land on our planet might be mountains, dramatically altering Earth’s landscape.
