A team of scientists led by University of Nevada’s geoscientist Oliver Tschauner has discovered the first evidence that pockets of water may exist deep in the Earth’s mantle. According to multiple news sources, the team found Ice-VII – a high-pressure form of water – inside impurities in natural diamonds sourced at 410-660 km depth.
The scientists said that the impurities in the diamonds (inclusions) hold “infinite value, as they may hold the key to understanding the inner workings of our planet”. The research team explained that the diamonds were created in the Earth’s mantle, and while Ice-VII is solid inside the diamonds, it is liquid in the mantle.
Tschauner explained that the discovery is important “in understanding that water-rich regions in the Earth’s interior” and the role they can play “in the global water budget and the movement of heat-generating radioactive elements […] In other words: it’s another piece of the puzzle in understanding how our planet works”.
