More water than in the oceans in the Earth’s mantle

Where did the oceans come from? One hypothesis is that our ocean water came from comets that collided with the early Earth. Another is that the water came from underground and either seeped to the surface, or came out as water vapor in volcanoes. The second is looking more likely as scientists have found that rocks 700 km below the surface, in the Earth’s mantle, has water bound up in it.

Using seismic waves, scientists have found that ringwoodite has water in it, essentially soggy rock. This is happening around 700 km down, around the transition between the upper and lower mantles.

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