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.”
via inhabitat
source University of Alberta
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