Image: tomburke.co.uk
A study published yesterday in the journal Science suggests oceans of water are locked in rock about 400 miles below Earth’s surface. It’s not liquid, ice or vapor, but rather hydrogen and oxygen embedded in the molecular structure of mineral rock. Researchers think it may help explain some things about how the planet formed, and how oceans gathered on the planet’s surface, which is great. But for many observers the first question is, how do we get at it? And the answer is a flat no, we don’t get anywhere near this stuff, much less turn it into a usable form, because it’s far too deep in the mantle. It’s 400 miles down, and the deepest humans have ever drilled is less than 10 miles.
Read more:
Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle – Science
Water discovered deep beneath Earth’s surface – USA Today
New evidence of oceans of water deep in the Earth – Phys.Org
Oceans of water locked 400 miles inside Earth – Discovery News
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