Did you know that there is water below the earth’s mantle? Actually, there is about a whole ocean’s worth of water underneath the mantel. Scientists know about this water because of a special rock called ringwoodite.
Ringwoodite is a mineral, with a similar structure to olivine, that is found largely in the transition zone of the mantle. The earth’s mantle has three layers, the upper mantle, the transition zone, and the lower mantle. Ringwoodite intrusions (little pieces in other mineral formations, such as diamonds) have been found on the crust of the Earth. The interesting thing about ringwoodite is that it absorbs hydroxyl radicals (split water molecules) because of its open atom structure.
Some scientists indicate that since there are split water molecules in ringwoodite, and
ringwoodite is mainly found in the mantle, that the mantle itself could have large quantities of water in it. According to Kent Condie in Earth as an Evolving Planetary System, Ringwoodite can possibly hold 1.7% of its weight in water molecules (split). With such a large storage capacity, it is possible that “the mantle Transition Zone could contain a large water reservoir compared to the upper mantle and the lower mantle.”
However exciting it is to find out that a rock from the mantle could indicate a water reservoir in the mantle, we have to remember how deep the mantle is. According to the USGS, the crust is on average 30 kilometers thick. The mantle is about 2900 km thick, and the transition zone doesn’t even begin until 410 km down. So, this water that could be at the mantle would be veeerrry difficult to access.
Since we can’t get to the mantle’s water, we must work together to find innovative technologies to conserve the water resources that we can access. IX Power Clean Water is dedicated to water conservation and mitigating the impacts of climate change. IX technology works relieve water stress in two key areas. First the innovative technology can create a closed loop system for industrial water users. So, industries use less of our most precious resources. Secondly, IX Power’s technologies can clean wastewater from industrial producers and oil and gas production to be safely reused for agriculture or reintroduced into the ecosystem for further use. Learn more about IX Power’s water saving technology at https://ixwater.com/
Learn more about ringwoodite by reading Earth as an Evolving Planetary System
https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128199145/earth-as-an-evolving-planetary-system or go to: https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/ringwoodite-and-deep-water-cycle