If the Earth continues to suck its oceans, the planet could explode, according to a study

What goes down must happen – maybe in the form of molten lava.

As the tectonic plates move, they drag our oceans deep into the earth's crust, causing earthquakes, magma production and volcanic eruptions.

All business as usual, geologically speaking.

But it turns out that the planet sucks much more seawater than we previously thought – triple the amount – and that makes scientists nervous.

Using seismic sensors placed around the Mariana Pit – the deepest point on the planet, where the Philippine Sea meets the Pacific – a team of researchers from the University of Washington in St. Louis has been following rumors beneath the surface.

The more the earthquakes are slowed down, the more water is assumed to be amortized and the team observed these "slowdowns" to nearly 18 miles from the earth's crust.

While taking into account temperatures and pressures below, the researchers concluded that 3 billion teragrams, or one billion kilograms, are ripped off every million years.

These huge numbers may not provide much context, but it is useful to know that the water that enters the Earth will eventually rise – during volcanic eruptions – and that it will not be too much. it is, according to scientists, three times more hydrated than the Earth seems to emit at present. .

The fact that these numbers are not correlated means that scientists understand much less what they thought of the inside of the planet.

"Many other studies need to focus on this," says lead researcher Chen Cai at Live Science.

In the state, the results of the new study indicate "major ramifications," says Donna Shillington, a researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, who wrote an editorial to accompany the study.

"If extrapolated globally. . . The result of the authors implies that the amount of water entering the interior of the Earth far exceeds current estimates of the amount emitted by volcanoes and therefore requires rethinking the overall water balance, "she wrote.

Shillington's Assessment: Water beneath the surface of the Earth contributes to the development of magma and can lubricate faults, increasing the risk of earthquakes.