What specific mineral is responsible for structurally holding this immense quantity of water deep within the Earth?
Answer
Ringwoodite
The water is held within the crystal structure of the rare mineral called ringwoodite, which forms under the extreme temperature and pressure conditions found deep in the mantle. Ringwoodite acts like a sponge by attracting and trapping hydrogen.
Related Questions
Where is the massive deep water reservoir primarily located within the mantle layers?What specific mineral is responsible for structurally holding this immense quantity of water deep within the Earth?How is the water chemically stored within the ringwoodite mineral?Compared to the water in all surface oceans combined, what is the estimated scale of the water held in the transition zone?What geophysical observation provided clear evidence of water-rich rock existing miles beneath the surface?Which long-standing theory regarding Earth's water origin is strongly supported by the existence of this vast internal reservoir?What process links the deep water cycle to surface phenomena like volcanism?What is the fate of the rock structure as it passes the boundary where water is squeezed out?Which researchers utilized seismic wave data gathered from the USArray to confirm their findings?What is the approximate water content found by weight in the specific ringwoodite sample recovered from Mato Grosso, Brazil?