New iron-bearing compounds could store water near Earth's core
Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks from Baffin Island, Canada, and Iceland suggest that some of the water dating back to Earth's formation may still be preserved deep within the planet. However, it has remained unclear which minerals could store such quantities of water under the extreme conditions of Earth's interior.
An international research team has synthesized two iron compounds, Fe₅O₁₂Hₓ and Fe₇O₁₂Hₓ, which could potentially store water deep within Earth's interior. These compounds were created using diamond anvil cells, which simulate the extreme conditions found several thousand kilometers beneath Earth's surface, with pressures of 78 to 198 gigapascals and temperatures of 2,400 to 2,800 kelvin.
The researchers discovered that even very small amounts of hydrogen are sufficient to stabilize these highly hydrated iron compounds. The compounds could be found in an ancient basal magma ocean that crystallized above the core-mantle boundary or in regions where tectonic plates transport water deep into Earth. The presence of these water-rich minerals near the core-mantle boundary could explain unusual seismic signals and potentially act as a "volatile fuse" for mantle plumes.
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