So turns out that there’s a massive ocean hidden under the Earth’s crust. My first visual when I heard this was some water world beneath the earths crust but unfortunately I was wrong 🙁
While there is a huge supply of water 400 miles underground, it is stored in rock known as ‘ringwoodite’. Scientists previously discovered that water is stored inside mantle rock in a sponge-like state, which isn’t a liquid, solid or a gas, but instead a fourth state, can’t get my head around that one but will just pretend I didn’t read it, ouch.
In total there’s roughly three times as much water below the surface than in the oceans. This rock known as ringwoodite is like a sponge, soaking up water. The special crystal structure of ringwoodite allows it to attract hydrogen and trap water.
Geophysicist Steve Jacobsen words – “I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades.”
Scientists made the findings after studying earthquakes and discovering that seismometers, which are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake, were picking up shockwaves under the surface of the Earth. From that, they were able to establish that the water was being held in the rock known as ringwoodite.They feel this is the case but if this rock contained just 1 per cent water, it would mean that again there is three times more water under the surface of the Earth than there is in the oceans on the surface.
This stuff is all madness, I’m guessing the water is like sea water or can it come to use to help water shortages around the world, still wondering what is the 4th state 🙂
As always thank you for reading.
Sam
Geophysicist Steve Jacobsen words – “I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades.”
Scientists made the findings after studying earthquakes and discovering that seismometers, which are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake, were picking up shockwaves under the surface of the Earth. From that, they were able to establish that the water was being held in the rock known as ringwoodite.They feel this is the case but if this rock contained just 1 per cent water, it would mean that again there is three times more water under the surface of the Earth than there is in the oceans on the surface.
This stuff is all madness, I’m guessing the water is like sea water or can it come to use to help water shortages around the world, still wondering what is the 4th state 🙂
As always thank you for reading.
Sam
