Researchers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, have announced the discovery of a vast reservoir of water beneath the earth’s surface. This hidden underground supply of water is located approximately 700 km beneath us.

In their quest to trace the origins of Earth’s water, researchers stumbled upon a vast water reservoir concealed beneath the planet's surface. The discovery, outlined in a 2014 study titled "Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle," revealed the existence of this immense ocean beneath our feet.

The ocean is ensconced within ringwoodite, a blue rock situated 700 kilometers underground in the mantle, the layer of hot rock between Earth’s surface and its core.

The sheer magnitude of the reservoir has sparked an alternative hypothesis suggesting that oceans may have gradually seeped out from the interior of the early Earth. Remarkably, the subterranean mega water body boasts a volume three times larger than that of all the planet’s surface oceans combined.

Researchers discovered the large water reservoir while investigating the origins of Earth’s water. The findings, detailed in a 2014 study titled "Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle," described how scientists identified the colossal ocean beneath our feet.

The ocean is concealed within a blue rock known as ringwoodite, which lies 700 kilometres underground in the mantle. The earth’s mantle is the layer of hot rock between Earth’s surface and its core.

The size of the reservoir has led to an alternative theory suggesting that oceans may have gradually seeped out of the interior of the early Earth. The subterranean mega water body is three times the volume of all the planet’s surface oceans combined.

By measuring wave speed at different depths, researchers identified various rock types. The presence of water became apparent as waves slowed down due to dampened rock.

“This deep reservoir is something we should appreciate. If it weren't there, it would be on the Earth's surface, and mountain tops would be the only land visible,” Jacobsen commented.

In a corroborative study from 2014, researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada examined a diamond extracted from the Earth's transition zone. This diamond had been transported to the surface via a volcano and was found to contain water-bearing ringwoodite.

The transition zone, located approximately 410 to 660 kilometers (250 to 410 miles) beneath the Earth's surface, denotes a region within the Earth's mantle. It serves as the boundary between the upper and lower mantle, exhibiting significant alterations in temperature, pressure, and mineral composition.

Image source: UNILAD