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The oceans are in a state of perpetual flux, with water entering and leaving the Earth's mantle. The process, known as the Deep Water Cycle, sees water sliding under the tectonic plates of the planet only to come out later by volcanoes and underwater vents. About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and 97% of this water – more than 332,519,000 cubic miles – is in the oceans. But the deep-water process seems to consume more water than it releases to the surface.
And according to some scientific estimates, there could be about three to four oceans of water trapped under the mantle.
The shocking revelation was presented by a team of Norwegian geologists in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems.
Researchers have found historical evidence of sea-level fluctuation of more than 200 meters parallel to so-called super-continental cycles every 300 to 500 million years.
These radical changes in the oceanic heights were determined by the volume of the ocean, itself determined by the movement of the continents.
Sinking of the oceans: the cycle of deep water drains water under the mantle of the Earth (Image: GETTY)
Pangea: the continents were once united in a single land mass (Image: GETTY)
And one event, in particular, may have contributed to a significant flux in the deep water cycle – fragmentation of the supercontinent of Pangea.
The breakup of Pangea has been associated with a very rapid subduction of the tectonic plate.
The Pangea or Pangea, formed a monstrous land mass about 335 million years ago before entering individual continents about 175 million years ago.
The dead supercontinent existed throughout the late Paleozoic region and up to the Mesozoic era.
During the breakup of Pangea, the deep water cycle probably swallowed up to 130 feet of water from the world's oceans.
Krister Karlsen, a geologist at the University of Oslo, told Live Science: "The breakup of the Pangea has been associated with a very rapid subduction period of the tectonic plate.
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"This has led to a period of significant water transport in the Earth, resulting in a drop in the associated sea level."
The separation of Pangea gave birth to the North Atlantic during the separation of the North American plate and the Eurasian plate.
The event forced a "rapid subduction" of water under the Earth's mantle about 230 million years ago.
The researchers wrote in their study: "Our models suggest that a sea-level drop of up to 130 m is possible during this period and that this was caused by the ~ 150Ma rift-pulse that opened the Atlantic and the rapid forced subduction of the old oceanic lithosphere.
"This indicates that the deep water cycle is perhaps one of the most important mechanisms of sea level change on supercontinental time scales, and offers a more complete picture of the sea level. Dynamic interaction between tectonics and sea level change. "
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The gradual split of Pangea has created all the oceans we know today. (Image: GETTY)
Sea level rise: melting ice caps pump water into the oceans (Image: GETTY)
Yet, despite the deep-water cycle, scientists believe that the world's oceans are suffering a ridge, mainly due to warmer waters and melting polar ice caps.
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the increase occurs at a "rising rate".
Dr. Carlsen said, "While the deep-sea cycle can actually change sea levels over hundreds of millions, if not billions, of years, climate change can change sea levels from zero to 100 years.
"By comparison, the current sea level rise associated with climate change is about 3.2 millimeters a year.
"The decline in sea level associated with the deep-sea cycle is about 1/10 000 of that.
What is the deep water cycle that absorbs the oceans under the mantle of the Earth?
The water cycle is the continuous movement of water in the air, on the surface, underground and across waterbodies.
The liquid water evaporates into gas, which then falls as rain, which seeps into the oceans or seeps underground and is released to the surface – again and again.
In the deep-water cycle, the ocean infiltrates the interstices between tectonic plates and infiltrates the interstices under the mantle of the Earth.
The water is then returned to the cycle by underground chimneys and volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean.
The NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) said: "The water cycle shows the continuous movement of water in the Earth and in the atmosphere.
"It's a complex system that includes many different processes."
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