The earth is swallowing the ocean

Popular mechanics

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "A new study published in the journal Nature reveals some mysterious complexities of the water cycle of our planet, especially the amount of seawater trapped inside the Earth by plate tectonics. According to the study, about three times more than we thought. "Data-reactid =" 32 "> A new study published in the journal Nature reveals some mysterious complexities of the water cycle of our planet, especially the amount of seawater trapped inside the Earth by plate tectonics. According to the study, about three times more than we thought.

The Earth's mantle is a puzzle of intertwined tectonic plates. When these plates collide and one slides under the other, the water is sucked into the subduction zone. Through a combination of heat and pressure, water is chemically transformed into "wet rocks", a hydrated mineral that blocks inside the plate and sinks deeper into the earth's crust. Douglas Wiens, professor of earth sciences and planets at Washington University in St. Louis, wanted to know how much water was absorbed in this way. It began in the Marianas Trench, the deepest natural formation on the planet 7 miles below sea level.

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Using seismographs placed along the trench, researchers were able to listen to underwater seismic activity and essentially map sections of the Earth's interior by "analyzing the relative velocity of types of rocks with different water retention capabilities, "according to The Source, a university. publication. After a full year of listening to the roaring patches of Marianas and the Pacific 20 miles below the ocean floor, they discovered that the mantle contained four times more water than what I did. we thought before. To put this in perspective, it is as much water as all the oceans of the Earth combined. Blue planet indeed.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "While some trenches in the world have more defects and others less, we can nevertheless extrapolate that they all aspire a lot of ocean – three times more, says Wiens, than we think.If you think of the Earth as a vacuum, it is necessary that what enters more precisely, up. Scientists believe that most of the water consumed in the subduction zones is released as water vapor during volcanic eruptions. "Data-reactid =" 55 "> Some trenches have more flaws in the world and others less, but we can extrapolate nevertheless All absorb a lot of ocean – three times more, says Wiens, than expected. consider the Earth as a void, what gets into it must come out – or more exactly, up. Scientists believe that most of the water consumed in subduction zones is expelled as water vapor during volcanic eruptions.

But here's the problem: these latest estimates from the University of Washington study reveal a glaring imbalance between entry and exit. Geologically, the amount of water transferred into the mantle should be less than the surface. And yet, Wiens points out, for nearly 550 million years, the oceans look a lot like what they are now. New research in the trenches of Alaska and Central America will probably help to better understand this mystery.

Whether you are fascinated or not by the slowness of geology, it is a mystery that deserves to be elucidated. Understanding how water works on our planet, around it and around it will not only shed light on the planet's current life, but also how we could survive on another planet. One day.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "(# You might also like,,)"data-reactid =" 58 ">(# You might also like,,)