Rough diamond reveals of water deep inside Earth

Rough diamond discovered by miners in Brazil, who thought it was worthless, could be the evidence of an ocean of water deep inside the Earth. Richard Siemens/University of Alberta

The rare diamond has provided evidence for our understanding of our planet, specifically of a vast “wet zone” deep inside the Earth that could hold as much water as all the oceans together.

Becky Oskin at Livescience explains:

“The diamond from Brazil confirms that the models are correct: Olivine is ringwoodite at this depth, a layer called the mantle transition zone. And it resolves a long-running debate about water in the mantle transition zone. The ringwoodite is 1.5 percent water, present not as a liquid but as hydroxide ions (oxygen and hydrogen molecules bound together). The results suggest there could be a vast store of water in the mantle transition zone, which stretches from 254 to 410 miles (410 to 660 km) deep.”