Scientists used satellite-connected seismographs to discover underground water equal to three times that in our oceans

Using a massive network of hundreds of seismographs spread across the US, scientists have identified strong evidence pointing toward the existence of water embedded in minerals beneath the Earth’s mantle. The secret reservoir, which is believed to be locked in a blue crystalline mineral, holds enough water capacity to fill the Earth’s oceans three times over. The discovery may radically alter our understanding of how Earth’s oceans formed.
USArray combines the power of four types of observatories, the transportable array, flexible array, reference network, and magnetotelluric array, to create a dense network of high-precision seismic stations that wasn’t possible twenty years ago before the advent of modern cell phones, Internet, and Satellite transmissions. USArray consolidates the data from each individual node in the network, providing geologists with real-time data gathered from a larger area than ever before.

Led by Northwestern University’s geophysicists Steve Jacobsen and University of New Mexico seismologist Brandon Schmandt, the team of researchers made the discovery using seismometers to measure earthquakes and the velocity of resulting seismic waves at various depths in the Earth. The data revealed that seismic waves were slowing down after reaching the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle (a zone located 250 to 410 miles beneath the Earth’s crust), an area made up largely of a mineral called ringwoodite.

Experiments conducted on the surface revealed that ringwoodite, which is commonly found in Earth’s mantle, is amply capable of trapping water when placed under extreme pressures (as found beneath the crust). Considering the deepest hole ever bored by human technology extends only 12 kilometer beneath the crust, where the samples of Ringwoodite originate, I do not know. It is speculated that even if the ringwoodite contains as little as 2.6%  water, the overall volume of the transition zone creates a water capacity equal to three times the surface’s water supply.

The accuracy of the discovery will determine whether the prevailing theory of Earth’s surface water originating from a comet strike will be replaced with a more holistic approach that suggests water originated from beneath the crust. Similarly, the presence of water at such a low depth may help explain the shifting nature of plate tectonics.
“Geological processes on the Earth’s surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight,” explains Dr. Steven Jacobsen in a written statement. “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.”

Via Extremetech