In de media is aandacht voor de ontdekking van een reusachtige oceaan onder de aardkorst. Het water bevindt zich op 700 kilometer onder het aardoppervlak en is opgeslagen in ringwoodiet.
De oceaan is drie keer zo groot als alle zeeën aan het aardoppervlak tezamen. De ontdekking is in 2014 gepubliceerd in vakblad Science en doet nu opnieuw de ronde.
(Video verwijderd? Klik hier...)Van binnenuit
Volgens geofysicus Steven Jacobsen wijst deze ontdekking erop dat het water op aarde van binnenuit is gekomen, en dat het naar de oppervlakte werd gedreven door seismische activiteit.
Hij zei dat het verborgen water een soort buffer is voor de oceanen aan de oppervlakte, en verklaart waarom die al miljoenen jaren ruwweg dezelfde omvang hebben.
Jacobsen en zijn team vonden bewijs voor de ‘ondergrondse oceaan’ door met zo’n 2000 seismometers de seismische golven te analyseren die veroorzaakt worden door aardbevingen. De golven werden aanzienlijk vertraagd door de waterlaag.
Geen zorgen
“Over de zogenaamde waterschaarste moeten we ons dus geen zorgen maken,” reageert oud-psycholoog Steve Van Herreweghe.
“Er zal nog heel veel aan het licht komen waaruit zal blijken dat we ons in wezen geen zorgen moeten maken. Maar we werden/worden dom gehouden.”
Over de auteur: Robin de Boer is economisch geograaf. Volg hem hier op Substack.
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Gigantic ocean triple the volume of all of Earth's surface oceans has
just been found
USEdited
By: Apoorna SharmaUpdated: Apr 02, 2024,
05:32 PM IST
Photograph:(Twitter)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The quest to find the origins of
Earth’s water has led researchers to a massive find—a colossal ocean ensconced
within the Earth’s mantle, over 700 kilometres below the surface.
The scientists from Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois have discovered a reservoir of water that is three times the
size of all of Earth's oceans, deep beneath the planet's surface. This
underground water supply rests some 700 km beneath our feet.
The quest to find the origins of Earth’s water led researchers to
the massive find—a colossal ocean ensconced within the Earth’s mantle,
over 700 kilometres below the surface.
This hidden ocean, concealed within a
blue rock known as ringwoodite, dares our understanding of where Earth’s water
came from. The size of this subterranean sea is triple the volume of all
the planet’s surface oceans combined.
This new discovery not only enthrals
with its scale but also proposes a new theory about Earth’s water cycle. It
recommends that instead of arriving via comet impacts, as some theories have
posited, Earth’s oceans may have slowly seeped out from its very core.
Science
Behind The Discovery
Steven Jacobsen, a researcher at
Northwestern University in Illinois and the lead author of the study, informs,
“This is substantial evidence that water on Earth came from within.”
To uncover this underground ocean,
researchers used an array of 2000 seismographs across the United States,
analysing seismic waves from over 500 earthquakes. Waves which travel
through Earth’s inner layers, including its core, slow down when passing through
wet rock, allowing scientists to assume the presence of this vast water
deposit.
Earth’s
Water Cycle Reimagined
The possibility that water exists in the
Earth's mantle and sweats between the rock grains may change our perception of
the planet's water cycle. Jacobsen further emphasised the importance of
this reservoir, pointing out that without it, water would be on the surface of
the Earth and that the only visible land may be the peaks of mountains.
Also
read: Mars may have hosted
life for millions of years longer than previously thought
Now, with this revolutionary discovery,
researchers are keen on gathering more seismic data from around the world to
determine if this mantle melting is a common occurrence. Their findings could
revolutionise our understanding of the water cycle on Earth, offering new
insights into one of our planet’s most fundamental processes.
(With
inputs from agencies)
https://www.wionews.com/science/gigantic-ocean-found-700km-below-earths-surface-706834
