There's a lot we still don't know about our planet 's core – but scientists recently discovered that water is slowly seeping there from the surface.
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The journey is not simple. The liquid drips along the tectonic plates before finally reaching the core, after a journey of 2,900 kilometers. And while the process is slow, over billions of years a new surface is created between the molten metal of the outer core and the Earth's outer mantle.
In a new study, scientists from the University of Arizona report that water causes a chemical reaction, creating a new layer that is “a few hundred kilometers thick.” That’s considered “thin” when it comes to the Earth’s inner layers.
“For years, it was believed that the material exchange between the Earth's core and mantle was small-scale. However, our recent experimental discoveries at high pressure reveal a different story.“
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“We discovered that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it reacts with silicon in the core, creating silicon dioxide,” wrote one of the study’s authors, Dr. Dan Shim.
“This discovery, together with our previous observation of diamond formation from water reacting with carbon in liquid iron under extreme pressure, points to a much more dynamic core-mantle interaction, suggesting significant material exchange.“
But how does all this affect us, who are on the surface of the Earth?
The University of Arizona said: “This finding advances our understanding of Earth’s internal processes, suggesting a more extensive global water cycle than previously recognized.”
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“The modified core “film” has profound implications for the geochemical cycles that link the surface water cycle to the deep metallic core.“
Source: indy100
