A stunning new discovery in marine/geological science has uncovered an ocean so expansive that it triples the combined volume of all the surface oceans across the globe. Yet, this body of water cannot be seen above Earth’s surface.
According to research, this ocean exists deep within Earth’s mantle at a depth of about 450 miles (700 kilometers).
This astounding discovery was made through a study conducted at Northwestern University that has broken new ground in the natural sciences.
As researchers examined a mineral called ringwoodite, a type of blue rock that exists in the Earth’s mantle and has the peculiar ability to trap water within its structure, they uncovered the plausibility of a body of water being sustainable below the Earth’s surface.
Steven Jacobsen, a lead researcher at Northwestern University, has explained that this massive subterranean ocean was detected using a network of 2,000 seismographs spread across the United States. These tools captured seismic waves created by over 500 earthquakes.
As these waves move through the Earth, they move differently through wet rock as opposed to dry rock, with a difference in speed that was crucial in identifying the presence of such a significant amount of water so far underground.
This revelation challenges long-held assertions regarding the origins of Earth’s water, generally believed to be a result of asteroids releasing their ice content as they struck the Earth in primordial times. The new findings imply that our oceans could have a source much closer to their home than previously understood.
According to Jacobsen, other implications of these findings suggest that this reservoir of water could be why the ocean levels on Earth have remained relatively stable over thousands of years, despite considerable geological changes. This underground reservoir could have been acting as a backup source for surface oceans all this time.
The presence of this hidden ocean could also indicate a revision of our water cycle, in which the water deep in the Earth’s mantle points to a dynamic internal water cycle that operates over geological timescales, subtly migrating between rock grains. This cycle could considerably influence everything from volcanic activity to the movement of tectonic plates.
Going forward, the team at Northwestern University plans to expand their research with additional seismic data from around the world. This added information could confirm whether this phenomenon is isolated or widespread throughout the world.
