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Diamond Suggests Presence of Water Deep Within Earth

sciencehabit writes "A 40 micrometer crystal trapped inside a diamond unearthed by magma in Brazil could help settle a long-standing debate about the amount of water in Earth's mantle. Spectroscopic analysis reveal that the crystal contains hydrogen-oxygen bonds, which suggests it's composed of at least 1.4% water. The place where the diamond was produced--Earth's lower mantle--may not be typical of the entire lower mantle, but if it is then there could be a lot of water down there. This would be important, as changes in the temperature in the mantle could cause it to expel highly pressurized steam, which could lead to volcanic eruptions."

48 comments

  1. A better article by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://uk.news.yahoo.com/earth-secret-reservoir-water-scientists-191039455.html

    Hans Keppler, a geologist at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, cautioned against extrapolating the size of the subterranean water find from a single sample of ringwoodite.

    And he also said

    "In some ways it is an ocean in Earth's interior, as visualised by Jules Verne... although not in the form of liquid water," Keppler said in a commentary also published by Nature.

    Ain't nothing swimming around down there.

    --
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    1. Re:A better article by alexborges · · Score: 2, Funny

      I have one word for your feeble heart, infidel: Cthulhu.

      --
      NO SIG
    2. Re:A better article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://uk.news.yahoo.com/earth-secret-reservoir-water-scientists-191039455.html

      Hans Keppler, a geologist at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, cautioned against extrapolating the size of the subterranean water find from a single sample of ringwoodite.

      And he also said

      "In some ways it is an ocean in Earth's interior, as visualised by Jules Verne... although not in the form of liquid water," Keppler said in a commentary also published by Nature.

      Ain't nothing swimming around down there.

      We didn't think anything was swimming around in the deepest, darkest trenches of the ocean either.

      We were wrong.

      That said, I couldn't get over how horribly pointless the last sentence of the summary was. "Water" leads to steam building up which leads to volcanic eruptions. This is important to understand why? Because we will refuse to build and live near volcanoes and fault lines? I hope no one in Hawaii or California heard of this "news". Might start a panic.

    3. Re:A better article by lucm · · Score: 1

      Ain't nothing swimming around down there.

      That's what she said

      --
      lucm, indeed.
    4. Re:A better article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cthulhu Fhtagn

    5. Re:A better article by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 3, Funny

      "This sample really provides extremely strong confirmation that there are local wet spots deep in the Earth in this area,"

      Did they have to roll it around in flour to find out? Just wondering.

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    6. Re:A better article by Nephandus · · Score: 1

      But he doesn't swim. That's why he's trapped.

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
    7. Re:A better article by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I find it amazing how much Jules Verne envisioned in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Basically he came up with the idea of a nuclear submarine before the advent of nuclear power. What I also learned even in 1870 when it was published, that very little about Antarctica was known, and the first undisputed landing didn't take place until 1895.

      His writings in Journey To The Center Of The Earth turned out to be much less real, but you still have to admire his imagination.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    8. Re:A better article by bob_super · · Score: 1

      Nope, wet thing flock to geologists. They know how to carefully explore all the layers.

  2. The question is ... by invictusvoyd · · Score: 1

    Are there a lot of diamonds from where the water came from ? (:grin:)

  3. presence of water deep within earth, and more... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    A lot of people still not aware that deep within earth is lots of water and vegetation. Forget what you heared in school about earth inner structure, those are simply provided to misguide you. Deep within every planet is an eco system much better than what we have on the surface of the earth.

  4. Re:presence of water deep within earth, and more.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    vegetation?

  5. This should be amusing. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is really obscure - it might take a couple of months, but I predict that this is at some point going to be noticed by creationists who will then read the summary (not the paper of course, just the summary) and proudly declare that this is where the water from the great flood disappeared to.

    1. Re:This should be amusing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      where the water from the great flood disappeared

      It also washed away most of their brains .. thats where the vegetation comes from.

    2. Re:This should be amusing. by meerling · · Score: 1

      Please don't give them suggestions, they imagine enough b.s. now.

    3. Re:This should be amusing. by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It gets worse; the Guardian's comments are full of people sneering about how we are going to destroy this precious natural water resource now we know it's there. Part of me died inside.

      http://www.theguardian.com/sci...

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    4. Re: This should be amusing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Surely you aren't a great flood denier? Even if you don't believe in God the Bible is at least a record if history. BTW a great flood is recorded in more texts than the bible and there is also evidence of a flood http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/great-flood1.htm

    5. Re:This should be amusing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You thought that was bad, just wait until the greenies trip over the "changes in the temperature" phrase and start claiming the greenhouse effect will cause the earth to explode in a ball of steam.

    6. Re: This should be amusing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course not, I do not deny during early earth history, before the formation of continental crust, oceans were covering most of earth.

    7. Re: This should be amusing. by nucrash · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Considering how many communities live in coastal areas, I could easily logically deduce that after a great ice age, communities in this area flooded which lead to them being abandoned and left under water today. Some such communities are thought to have existed and some have even been found. A great flood doesn't have to cover the entire earth, just enough of it to affect were civilization exists.

      This is not that foreign of a concept to me. I am surprised that others seem to have a problem with it.

      --
      Place something witty here
    8. Re: This should be amusing. by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      Lots of cultures have a myth about a dangerous animal, I don't think you could use that as proof that one asshole shapeshifter was terrorising all human peoples.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    9. Re: This should be amusing. by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 0

      Those are just idiots. My threshold for dying inside is when research institutions start claiming that AGW is causing temperature increases in the mantle, and is causing increases in volcano activity as a result, enough that it could put our future in danger.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    10. Re:This should be amusing. by gewalker · · Score: 1

      The predominant theory among creationists is that the water of the flood is mostly most in the oceans -- The elevations of the continental masses where raised, allowing the water to flow to the oceans. This is kind of the same as the scientific opinion except for the timeframe of months vs. millions of years. Well, that and the scientific opinion that there was no world-wide flood/

    11. Re: This should be amusing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not just coastal areas, but a lot of early civilizations depended on floods to bring nutrients to their farms in flood plains. So they purposely live near areas that regularly flood, which occasionally have a much larger than usual flood. When you don't know about crop rotation or fertilization, and have limited irrigation ability, you will be dealing with floods if you have any large scale agriculture.

    12. Re:This should be amusing. by Naatach · · Score: 1

      The study is interestingly-timed, given the 3/28/14 release of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt19....

      --
      There may be no "I" in team, but there's also no "F" in way.
    13. Re:This should be amusing. by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      This is really obscure - it might take a couple of months, but I predict that this is at some point going to be noticed by creationists who will then read the summary (not the paper of course, just the summary) and proudly declare that this is where the water from the great flood disappeared to.

      Long past that point. I can remember seeing something on the internet at least a decade ago talking about not only where the water went to, but where it came from to begin with. The idea that there is water trapped deep in the mantel is not new or surprising. It has been known for along time, this is just more and better evidence.

  6. They have found water on Earth! by anyanka · · Score: 2

    I suggest we send a rover to check for signs of life immediately.

    1. Re:They have found water on Earth! by larpon · · Score: 1

      I think we might find life - but not intelligent life I'm afraid :(

  7. Re:presence of water deep within earth, and more.. by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    A lot of people still not aware that deep within earth is lots of water and vegetation. Forget what you heared in school about earth inner structure, those are simply provided to misguide you. Deep within every planet is an eco system much better than what we have on the surface of the earth.

    vegetation?

    Yes what else do expect the underground civilisation to live on?

  8. A volcanic eruption, or by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a fine cup of genuine Mantle Tea!

  9. Re:presence of water deep within earth, and more.. by Solandri · · Score: 1
  10. Or.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where it came from.

    1. Re:Or.... by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      No, they already solved that. The most popular YEC explanation is that the water was in a spherical ice shell just at the top of the atmosphere, held in place by divine will. The shell stopped cosmic radiation reaching earth, which is why people could live for many centuries*. Then God said 'screw it' and stopped willing the ice to stay in place, so it fell down and flooded the earth. Where the water went after is more of an issue.

      *In some varients, UV radiation, but then they have to deal with the problem of people who live and work indoors most of their lives not living super-long.

  11. Re:presence of water deep within earth, and more.. by king+neckbeard · · Score: 2

    Foolhardy explorers foolish enough to venture into their domain, of course.

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  12. Re:presence of water deep within earth, and more.. by rossdee · · Score: 1

    The walls were enhanced with rock weed, and mosses from the silurian epoch

    and later

    Not only had they found life in the water, they had found a flowing guide to the centre of the earth

    (Rick Wakeman's version of Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth)

  13. Where did they think the oceans came from? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Totally bizarre reporting. Rather like "discovering" that the sun rises in the east. But I guess when large number of people think that the internet has made knowledge unnecessary , probably inevitable. You can only understand the world around you in the context of what you already know. If you know nothing that's exactly how much you understand.

    The addition of small amount of water will cause hot, but otherwise solid rock to melt which is a significant consideration in igneous petrology. Volcanoes emit large quantities of water vapor along with carbon dioxide and other gases.

  14. God did it by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    Pressurized water coming up from above. That's how God flooded the Earth before, and he's ready to do it again! For $25/mo I will reserve a spot to have your lawn mowed after you've been raptured.

    1. Re:God did it by gewalker · · Score: 1

      Bad plan, everyone knows I won't care about watering my lawn post-rapture. Not that there is ever going to be a rapture, or is even mentioned in the Bible rapturists claim to follow.

    2. Re:God did it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not gonna happen:
      Ge 9:11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

  15. Hate much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are an idiot.

  16. Re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Came from. Where the water from the great flood came from. (The "fountains of the great deep" mentioned in Genesis 7:11.)

  17. Serious Study by TelavianX · · Score: 1

    I don't want to venture in the debate of religion vs science however it is clear that science is never settled and our understanding can change overnight.

    1. Re:Serious Study by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      While religion is never settled and usually takes about a century to change, after which adherents will insist it was like that all alone.

  18. why did they need a diamond to prove this? by hypergreatthing · · Score: 1

    I thought underground water being stored in molten rock material was already proved during russia's borehole experiment:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K...
    "To scientists, one of the more fascinating findings to emerge from this well is that no transition from granite to basalt was found at the depth of about 7 km, where the velocity of seismic waves has a discontinuity. Instead the change in the seismic wave velocity is caused by a metamorphic transition in the granite rock. In addition, the rock at that depth had been thoroughly fractured and was saturated with water, which was surprising. This water, unlike surface water, must have come from deep-crust minerals and had been unable to reach the surface because of a layer of impermeable rock.[8]

    Another unexpected discovery was the large quantity of hydrogen gas; the mud that flowed out of the hole was described as "boiling" with hydrogen"

    Are you going to say they rediscovered this? This was known back in the 80s.

  19. Origins of oil? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    Sometime ago, an accountant ran around screaming that oil is created by the earth. Now, here the possibility of heat and pressure with Carbon and water. Makes you wonder.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.