The cooling of planet Earth over time increased the water carrying capacity of the mantle and could have shrunk the oceans.
Earth's mantle
Posted inNews
Geologists to Shed Light on the Mantle with 3D Model
The model, which will incorporate 227 million surface wave measurements, could help with everything from earthquake characterization to neutrino geosciences.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Globally Variable Water Content in the Mantle Transition Zone
Using electromagnetic waves originating in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, conductivity profiles reaching the deep upper mantle show surprising variability in water content.
Posted inNews
Leaky at the Core
New evidence from deep mantle plumes suggests that Earth’s liquid outer core might be leaking tungsten isotopes into the lower mantle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Hiding Deep Hydrous Melts at the Core-Mantle Boundary
Silicate melts containing H2O in the lowermost mantle are surprisingly dense and may stagnate there, trapping primordial volatiles and potentially causing some of the ultra-low velocity zones.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Lower Mantle May Have a Wet Bottom
Molecular dynamics calculations suggest that molten hydrogen-bearing iron peroxide (FeO2Hx) may produce the ultra-low velocity zones that occur at the core-mantle boundary.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Seismic Anisotropy Due to a Compositionally Layered Mantle
Investigating the role of layered rocks and compositional banding on mineral scale in generating seismic anisotropy in the mantle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Carbonate Melting Enhances Mantle CO2 Fluxes in Old Ocean Basins
The amount of CO2 segregated from the mantle by carbonate melting beneath old oceanic crust may equal that emitted along the mid-ocean ridge system, thereby contributing to the global carbon cycle.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Linking Mantle Plumes to Volcanoes and Hot Spot Tracks
Study bolsters hypothesis that volcanoes on China’s Hainan Island were formed by a hot spot.
Posted inNews
Diamond Impurities Reveal Water Deep Within the Mantle
A high-pressure form of ice, trapped within diamonds forged in the lower mantle, suggests that aqueous fluids reside deeper in Earth than we knew.