Newly discovered iron minerals might hold primordial water from when Earth formed
Researchers may have found a missing link in how Earth's mantle gets wet: newly discovered iron minerals that can store water at the extremely high temperatures and pressures present near our planet's core.
Recent research has unveiled iron minerals that may contain primordial water from Earth's formation, according to scientists. These iron oxyhydroxides, discovered by subjecting mineral samples to immense pressure between diamond anvils, are stable under conditions found at the boundary between Earth's core and mantle. The minerals can hold up to 15% water by weight, which means a five-pound piece would contain a pint of liquid water.
If present in early Earth, these minerals could have contributed significantly to the formation of oceans. The discovery provides a potential mechanism through which water is stored and transported in the mantle. Further, these iron minerals align with both theories regarding the origin of Earth's mantle water - subduction and primordial water. They also explain the ultra-low seismic velocity patches located at the core-mantle boundary.
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